In Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, the ghost of a young woman relives a day of her own life. She chose a day that was cheerful and somewhat unimportant, expecting to smile at memories of her childhood, but is only depressed by the lack of appreciation for life of all the people in this reconstructed past. “They don’t understand much, do they?” (III.83)
If she had chosen another, more important, more joyous day, then would it have been any better? If anything, it likely would have been worse; more ignorant humans saying more ignorant, closed-minded things, only this time about something more important to her. What if she had chosen her wedding, seen all the things that were going on, all the things people were saying? What if she had heard her own husband’s regret, her own mother’s uncertainty? One can only assume that it would ruin the memory for her. …show more content…
It almost makes even her journey to the past seem like an unimportant factor in the big picture. She returns to her past only to see humans being foolish, not understanding things, not paying attention, not cherishing life for what it is, just as the Stage Manager does throughout the entire play. He seems to be much more used to it than Emily, as he views it all with a bored sense of detachment; but his view of the world and the lives humans lead is essentially the same. They both believe that humans ignore life, rush through it self-importantly, and never stop to truly appreciate or understand it. “Emily. … Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it? … Stage Manager. No.”
If she had chosen another, more important, more joyous day, then would it have been any better? If anything, it likely would have been worse; more ignorant humans saying more ignorant, closed-minded things, only this time about something more important to her. What if she had chosen her wedding, seen all the things that were going on, all the things people were saying? What if she had heard her own husband’s regret, her own mother’s uncertainty? One can only assume that it would ruin the memory for her. …show more content…
It almost makes even her journey to the past seem like an unimportant factor in the big picture. She returns to her past only to see humans being foolish, not understanding things, not paying attention, not cherishing life for what it is, just as the Stage Manager does throughout the entire play. He seems to be much more used to it than Emily, as he views it all with a bored sense of detachment; but his view of the world and the lives humans lead is essentially the same. They both believe that humans ignore life, rush through it self-importantly, and never stop to truly appreciate or understand it. “Emily. … Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it? … Stage Manager. No.”