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Summary: MY FAVORITE
Review: This is my favorite book. I love the idea of Emily seeing everyone after she dies and wanting to go back. I usually don't like the to read plays, but this one is an exception. It is really a great book and should be read by everyone
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Summary: Review of Thorton Wilder's Our Town
Review: Thorton Wilder's Our Town is an excellent play for adult and young adult reading. Wilder uses a stage manager to set each scene. He speaks directly to the audience or the reader, helping the reader relate to the story more easily. The stage manager does an excellent job of being descriptive and giving the reader a detailed image of the small town of Grover's Corner, New Hampshire. Our Town is the story of the lives of the citizens of Grover's Corner. The main focus is on the lives of the Gibbs family and the Webb family. The reader experiences the death of family, new life, marriage, and everyday love. This book is a short, simple read that I would recommend reading.
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Summary: A Poignant Drama
Review: When I first learned that I would be required to read "Our Town" as a part of a required reading assignment for English class, I didn't think that I was going to like it. As Wilder begins the play, the reader immediately notices that there is almost no action, suspense, characterization, or setting. The play is all about universality -- Wilder's lack of literary elements is actually a subliminal attempt to communicate the play's theme to everyone who reads it. The first act is a narrative of everyday events in a small New Hampshire town; Wilder titles this act "daily life" because it focuses on the monotony of trivial affairs. The second act is called "love and marriage," which discusses the process in which two people fall in love. The final act is based on "death" and it sums up the first two acts by casting them against the fact that everyone will die someday.The main theme that Wilder tries to convey is that even the most insignificant, unimportant things in life need to be appreciated. The protagonist asks in the final act, "Do human beings ever realize life while they live it? Every, every minute?" The answer, of course, is 'no.' We all tend to rush through life like it is a giant marathon, and all too often, we trample on other people along the way. Also in the final act, the protagonist wishes that she would have been nicer to people while she had the chance; she wishes that she would've let the other characters know how much she loved and appreciated them. In writing this drama, Wilder wants to tell us that we should all live our lives to the fullest; we should take time every day to give thanks for all that we have; we should always tell our friends and family just how much they mean to us -- we can only do these things while we're living, and none of us know exactly how much longer that will be. Reading this play has really given me a "wake up call" and has allowed me to cherish everyday, ordinary things like the beauty of nature. I felt that the play was, in retrospect, brilliantly written, brief, and poignant. I recommend this play to everyone because it teaches a message that we all need to remember -- take time to savor the simple things, because they often carry the greatest rewards.
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