“Our Town”
“Nice town, y’ know what I mean? Nobody very remarkable ever come out of it, s’ far as we know.” An ordinary town with nothing spectacular or noteworthy is the setting for a reflection on life. Why do people fight and kill each other for something that is not remembered years later? How does life fly by so quickly? Why is it so tempting to dwell in the past, and why does it hurt so much to do so? Thornton Wilder addresses age and death through the character of the stage manager in this classic three-act play.
“Goin’ to be a great engineer, Joe was, but the war broke out and he died in France. Yes sir, all that education for nothing. What business he had picking a quarrel with the Germans we can’t make out to this day, but it all seemed perfectly clear to us at the time.” In this monologue by the stage manager near the beginning of the first act1, Wilder reminds us that lives are wasted for causes that mean so much one day and nothing the next. Joe had a promising future ahead of him, but because of war that life was cut short and now people cannot even remember why the war came about in the first place. Wilder is addressing wasted life and how easily anyone can leave at any moment, regardless of how promising his or her future was.
“You know how it is: you’re twenty-one or twenty-two and you make some decision; then whisssh! you’re seventy; you’ve been a lawyer for fifty years, and that white-haired lady by your side has eaten over fifty thousand meals with you. How do such things begin?” In the middle of the second act2

Stauffer 2
the stage manager once again has a deep thought. Life flies by and Wilder realizes that it is not until later in life that one really appreciates each day.
Yet Wilder also realizes that by the time one appreciates each day, it is too late to go back and relive those days. And when one tries to go back to those days of youth, it ends up being more painful than just moving on. In addition one misses the rest of one’s life by spending time trying to get back to what used to be. Emily says3, “Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it-every, every minute?” The stage manager answers that not many people ever really appreciate every minute of life.
As life passes one by, it is difficult to appreciate every moment of every day. But once one reaches the point of reflection it is too late to revisit those early days. Death comes; one cannot control it or stop it from happening. Yet that does not stop one from wondering why aging happens. Wilder’s play suggests that life is best lived in the moment, with one embracing everything that comes one’s way. Death and aging are no different. One must realize that life moves on, the river keeps flowing. Wilder tells the audience that life is best lived when one does not resist the pull of gravity. Life moves by, and one cannot go back and make changes. It is one’s choice to live with regrets, and regrets prevent one from living a full life.