Literary Analysis #1 Our Town by Thornton Wilder

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read.
Our Town by Thornton Wilder is a famous play. Play is separated into three acts. Act I starts with stage Manager explaining the setting of the town and introducing town villagers. There are Gibbs family, Webb family, Howie Newsome, Joe Crowell Jr., Si Crowell, Samuel ‘Sam’ Craig, Simon Stimson, and more. The play start with ordinary life of Gibbs and Webb family. Afternoon, George Gibbs meets his neighbor Emily Webb. Act II takes place three years later. Emily Webb and George Gibbs is getting married! Both of Emily and George are nervous that they want to die, want to run away, and want to stay young. However, with their strong love for each other, they have successful romantic wedding. Act III takes place nine years later in a cemetery. We can see that there are tombstones for Mrs. Gibbs, Simon Stimson, Mrs. Soames, Wally Webb . Sam Craig and Joe Studdard appear and talk about their death. Shockingly, Emily also died during her childbirth. Now the story turns to the dead people. Emily thinks person’s life is very dark and she regrets her life. So she decided to go back to her life so she can find more happiness in her life. She goes back on Febuary 11th 1899, her 12th birthday. She was so happy to see everyone but soon she realized that human beings go through life without savoring their time on Earth. Emily decides to go back to 1913.

2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
The main themes of the novel are natural cycle and value of life. Born, living, death is the natural cycle of life. Being worry about dying is useless thinking. It is a natural life cycle, no one can avoid them. Now going into value of life, we should appreciate every moment because we never get a second chance. Emily thought her life was very miserable and she wanted to go back to the life and find more happiness. But she suddenly realizes that it is a natural cycle, no one can change or mess with the cycle.

3. Describe the author's tone. Include three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
The author’s tone is mostly the narrator's tone, which is the stage manager. He has direct tone and very informative. He know everything.“In those days our newspaper come out twice a week-the Grover’s Corners Sentinel- and this Is Editor Webb’s house.”“Want to tell you something about that boy Joe Crowell there. Joe was awful bright-graduated from high school here, head of his class. So he got a scholarship to Massachusetts Tech. Graduated head of his class there, too.”“This time nine years have gone by, friends- summer, 1913. Gradual changes in Grover’s Corners. Horses are getting rarer.”

4. Describe five literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthen your understanding of the theme and/or your sense of the tone. Include three excerpts (for each element) that will help your reader understand each one.
Tone of the play strengthen my understanding of the theme. It is humorous many times but when it talks about life, the tone changed into very direct and informative tone.“and as you watch it, you see the thing that they-down there-never know. You see the future. You know what’s going to happen it’s all I had.”
Also narrator of the story lead to the theme. Narrator, stage manager, appears often in the play and he brings out the theme.
"Do human beings ever realize life while they live it?- every, every minute?"
" no, the saints and poet,, maybe-they do some."
Dialogue also strengthen my understanding of the theme. Since this is a play, the whole thing is in dialogue form. Since it is dialogue form, it is easier for us to understand what each person is trying to say.
"I didn't realize. So all that was going on and we never noticed. Take me back -up the hill- to my grave. But first: wait! One more look. Good-by, good-by, world...."
Symbolism is also used to help us understand the theme. In the play, they go back in time often. In the beginning, they explained the death of mrs and doc Gibbs and then goes back to the past where all of Gibbs family were living happily. With Emily and George's wedding, narrator take us to year before to show us how they met and what happened to them.
"...You see, we want to know how all this began-this wedding, this plan to spend a lifetime together. I'm awfully interested in how big things like that begin."
Lastly, think?, character helped me. The characters in this play is all villagers in the town. They are all ordinary people, no one is more or less special than anybody. They were just regular ordinary people. Through out the play, characters lead the theme of the story. At the end of the play, Emily did not like her life so she wanted to go back and find more happiness however other adults told her "don't." Emily realizes that they were right. There's no way anyone can change the natural life cycle.
"I can't go back there and live all those days over again... Why not?"
"All I can say is, Emily, don't."
 

CHARACTERIZATION
1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization. Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?

Direct characterization.:

“Want to tell you something about that boy Joe Crowell there. Joe was awful bright-graduated from high school here, head of his class. So he got a scholarship to Massachusetts Tech…”

“Mrs. Webb, a thin, serious, crisp woman, has entered her kitchen, left, tying on an apron.”

Indirect characterization:

I could not find it.. Maybe I do not understand what indirect characterization is. I will add on to it when I find it!

Actually, this play used direct characterization more than indirect. Most of the time, the narrator describe the character while introducing them. And I like direct characterization way more than indirect because it directly explain their characterization so it is easier to understand.

2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?

This play is about ordinary people so it does not have much of difficult, long, and tedious words like those in big, thick books. The whole story is basically dialogue except when the narrator is describing the characters. It becomes informative. No big syntax or diction change.

When characters are talking,

JOE CROWELL, JR.:

Fine, doc, I never think about it at all. Only like you said, it always tells me when it’s going to rain.

DR. GIBBS:

What’s it telling you today? Goin’ to rain?

But when the narrator describe characters,

STAGE MANAGER:

Want to tell you something about the boy Joe Crowell there. Joe was awful bright- graduated from high school here, head of his class. So he got a scholarship to Massachusetts Tech..

3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round? Explain.

Like I said before, this play is about ordinary people’s life. So there are no dynamic or protagonist characters. They are all flat characters. All of the characters stay the same beginning to the end.

4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character? Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.

It feels like I met those characters. They were not like those fiction characters that has big dynamic characteristics. They were just like people from my neighbor. They were the people that you can find just by looking around your neighborhood.  Some of the characters actually remind me of my family!

MRS. GIBBS:

“Children! Children! Time to get up.”

HOWIE NEWSOME:

”Come on, Bessie!”

MRS. GIBBS:

“George! Rebecca!”

DR. GIBBS:

Washing and drying his hands at the sink. MRS. GIBBS is busy at the stove.