Our Town Character Analysis

The playwright Our Town features a wide range of philosophizing that one would not usually expect from such a traditional and classic play. The play’s author, Thornton Wilder, does an exceptional job characterizing his characters, with many seeming completely normal yet others clearly extraordinarily wise. The two main characters, characters George and Emily are both consistent sources of wisdom and clarity throughout the play. Throughout the play, George’s parts resonated with me the most, and he ended up being what I regarded as by far, the most relatable character. George is always collected, he knows what he wants and he knows what he has to do, even when other people around him may not. George helps to convey the overall message which
Upon reflection, Emily appears to achieve a greater wisdom than nearly any of the living. A wisdom that according to the stage manager is only possessed by “saints and poets maybe”. She realizes how special every moment of life is, and she is shocked at how people just let their life fly by. All too often people take things for granted, they become complacent in their everyday life. Emily is struck by the tragedy that she only truly appreciated what she had after it was gone. She sees every second of her life as extraordinarily precious, even a seemingly irrelevant moment. She realizes that the living are so busy with the small things in life that they don’t take the time to appreciate the important things. Looking back, Emily wants nothing but to talk to her
To many people he could be seen as an example, however his way of life is in no way universally applicable. George knew what he had to do to make himself happy, and in the end he seemed happy. In the third act Emily seems to be full of regrets and sadness, due to faults that she attributes to all of mankind. It is safe to say that Emily was not happy with how she lived her live. I believe that George would not have reacted the same way. George would have been content with his life, knowing that he lived it exactly how he