October 3, 2016
People are drawn to stories and films by relatable anecdotes and themes. Everyone needs to feel a connection to the world, and the play Our Town by Thornton Wilder is well known for its familiarity. Anyone who lives in a small community can recognize subtle similarities as well as specific comparisons to their own lives. Although Our Town was set in a different time period, its people, their relationships and their goals are strikingly similar to those in White Oak.
The relationship between people and their community in Our Town reflects that of people in White Oak. For instance, Wilder’s Mrs. Gibbs is a representation of how a lot of people living in a small town feel about travel. Though she is content and she loves her community, she mentions that she wants to “go away someplace on a real trip” (p. 19) and she believes that “once in your life before you die you ought to see a country where they don’t talk in English and don’t even want to.” (p. 20) Like Mrs. Gibbs, people in White Oak want to break their routines every now and then to see the world. High school students are always itching to get away for at least four years, even if they don’t leave the country or even the state. Adults save their money and vacation days in hopes of taking a trip. Everyone needs a break from the monotony of day-to-day life, and people living in small towns know this feeling well. Along with this, the relationship Wilder portrays between Emily, George, and their engagement is similar to the way students feel about leaving White Oak for college. To get married in Grover’s Corner meant to leave home and grow up, which is exactly what going to college means for kids in White Oak. It’s a new experience that people look forward to but are nervous about as well. Emily and George both panic just before their wedding, and afterwards George says to his mother, “Emily and I are coming over for dinner every Thursday night.” (p. 74) He is reassuring his mother that he’ll still come around, like kids do when they leave their families for college. Each situation is bittersweet because Emily, George, and the students leaving White Oak have all been prepared and are looking forward to growing up, but change is difficult nonetheless. This is especially true if it means leaving behind small-town life.
Also, the majority of the people in Grover’s Corners have similar values and ambitions, as do the people in White Oak. For example, most of the students in White Oak have goals for their future, whether they plan to attend college or find a job. In Our Town, Emily plans to incorporate speaking into her future. After making a speech at school, she tells her mother, “I’m going to make speeches all my life.” (p. 30) And although he ended up changing his plans in order to marry Emily and become a farmer sooner, George once had ambitions to “be a farmer on Uncle Luke’s farm” (p. 36) only after attending an agricultural college. People who grow up in small towns often want to do big things with their lives, and like George and Emily, this sometimes means changing their plans. Along with this, the majority of the people in White Oak also have similar values, which can be seen in political views and religion, since many people here are Republican and there are a lot of churches for such a small town. In Grover’s Corners, Mr. Webb says that the citizens are “eighty-six percent Republicans; six percent Democrats; four percent Socialists; rest, indifferent” and “eighty-five percent Protestants, twelve percent Catholics; rest, indifferent.” (p. 23) This information portrays that most of the people of Grover’s Corners have the same values and beliefs, like those in White Oak.
Thornton Wilder’s Our Town has many similarities, allowing people to relate to small town life. Although the places and situations in Our Town are like those in White Oak, the comparisons between the people in the towns are the most notable. Grover’s Corners is similar to White Oak regarding its citizens’ relationships, goals, and values.