The Specialty of Small Town Life in Our Town by Thortion Wilder (Play Analysis)

Is living in a small town boring and dull or special? Thortion Wilder shows the specialty of small town life in his play Our Town. The celebration of small town life is shown through Emily towards the end of the play. The specialty of living in a small town is shown through George when he is talking to Emily. 

Emily Webb realizes the importance and specialness of small town life, towards the end of the play. Emily says, “Grover’s Corners… Mama and Papa. Goodbye to clocks ticking… and Mama’s sunflowers. Food and coffee. And new ironed dresses and hot bath… and sleeping and waking up. Oh earth, you’re too wonderful for anybody to realize you.” (Wilder). This shows us Emily celebrating and realizing how important life in a small town is. She shows us that even the smallest things can be special and important. Emily also asks the stage manager, “Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it? - every, every minute?” (Wilder). Through this Emily shows us how when she was living life she did not celebrate it or appreciate it but now that she lost it she realizes how important small town life was. Emily realizes how people don’t appreciate their life when they are alive. She goes back in time to an ordinary monument where she celebrates her small town life. 

George also realizes the specialty of living in a small town when he is talking to Emily. George says,“And Uncle Luke’s getting old- he’s about ready for me to start taking over his farm tomorrow, if I could.” (Wilder). This shows that when living in a small town you can get things handed down to you from generation to generation making it more important. George also says to Emily, “And, like you say, being gone all that time… in other places and meeting other people...Gosh, if anything like that can happen I don't want to go away. I guess new people aren’t any better than older ones.” (Wilder). This shows that living in a small town means you don’t have to leave and worry about meeting new people, you can stay with the people you already know and like. George celebrates small town life by showing how things like farms, companies, and stores are passed down from generations and how in a small town you know a lot of people who you like and you don’t have to leave and meet others who wont be as good of people. By George choosing to stay in Grover's Corner he celebrates small town life. He realizes his relationship with people in his small town are better than anything he could find outside of Grover's Corner. 

Although small town life might not be for everyone like Simon Stimson, Emily and George learn to appreciate small town life. When talking about small town life to Emily Simon Stimson says,  “That's what it was to be alive. To move about in a cloud of ignorance; to go up and down trampling on the feelings of those… of those about you. To spend and waste time as though you had a million years.” (Wilder). Simon Stimson may be one of those people who just isn’t meant for small town life or he just doesnt appreciate it enough. Towards the end of the play emily says, “It goes so fast. We don’t have time to look at one another.” (Wilder). She explains how people don’t have time to appreciate small town life while they are alive. Emily goes back in time to a random ordinary day in Grover Corner, where she celebrates her small town life. Emily and Georege together celebrate small town life because of their relationship they have made in Grover's Corner.