Unit 2

Question 1

What is a juxtaposition?

Answer 1

The placement of two or more things side by side, often in order to emphasize their differences.

Question 2

What is an example of a juxtaposition?

Answer 2

Example: Emily in Act 3 is wearing white as opposed to the living and the dead who are wearing black.
Emily is juxtaposed with the other characters to emphasize the phase of life that she is in. She is in between the living and the dead, not unbothered like the dead, but not grieving like the living. It shows the tension between living and dead and how life transcends the daily life of people.

Question 3

What is a paradox?

Answer 3

A statement that seems like a contradiction but actually reveals a truth.

Question 4

Example of a paradox

Answer 4

Example: “At least, choose an unimportant day…Choose the least important day in your life. It will be important enough” (Wilder 100).
The opposing ideas of unimportant days and important days come together to reveal that even the least important and most uneventful days in your life will prove to be the most meaningful in the end.

Question 5

What is an allusion?

Answer 5

A reference to something literary, mythological, or historical that adds greater meaning to a piece of literature.

Question 6

Example of an allusion?

Answer 6

Example: “Yes…People are meant to go through life two by two. Tain’t natural to be lonesome” (Wilder 53).
This quote alludes to the biblical story, Noah’s Ark, in which the animals were meant to load two by two. This signifies that life is meant to be lived in companionship with others. Relationships are a natural part of humanity and it is unnatural to be alone in life. The allusion is effective because it brings in a religious tie and appeals to those who see the beauty in companionship. Wilder alludes to Noah’s Ark because people during this time would have been well versed in the bible and easily relate to the idea of “two by two. ”

Question 7

Drama

Answer 7

a genre of literature written to be performed on stage before an audience

Question 8

Act

Answer 8

One of the main divisions in a play

Question 9

Scene

Answer 9

A division of an act

Question 10

stage directions

Answer 10

Italicized comments that identify parts of the setting or the use of props or costumes, give further information about a character, or provide background information

Question 11

Dialogue

Answer 11

The conversation between characters

Question 12

Scenery

Answer 12

Hangings, draperies, structures, etc., used on a stage to represent a locale or furnish decorative background.

Question 13

Pantomime

Answer 13

A play or form of entertainment in which the performers express themselves mutely by gestures, often to the accompaniment of music.

Question 14

Breaking the Fourth Wall

Answer 14

Acknowledging and/or speaking directly to the audience

Question 15

Know the Characters

Answer 15

character sheet

Question 16

When was Our Town written?

Answer 16

1938

Question 17

Why is the stage manager’s character unusual?

Answer 17

He is omniscient, sees the future/past, can manipulate time, interacts directly with the audience

Question 18

What is unique about the Our Town scenery?

Answer 18

There isn’t much- the stage is very sparse. Characters pantomime often due to few props being used.

Question 19

In what state is Grover’s Corners set?

Answer 19

New Hampshire

Question 20

Who is Bessie?

Answer 20

Howie Newsome’s horse that helps deliver the milk

Question 21

Why does George want to find a way to communicate between Emily’s window and his?

Answer 21

To get help with algebra homework…(and he has a crush on her).

Question 22

Who is Simon Stimson?

Answer 22

The choir director and organist for the church. He is known as the town drunk. Nobody helps him because they think it is best to just stay out of it. He ends up dying by suicide.

Question 23

In the beginning of Act II, who is the “best baseball player” the paper boy complains about losing?

Answer 23

George Gibbs- he is getting married, so they are losing him.

Question 24

Why do Mrs. Gibbs and Mrs. Webb order extra milk and cream in Act II?

Answer 24

They have relatives over for George and Emily’s wedding.

Question 25

Doc Gibbs admits that he was worried about what before marrying his wife?

Answer 25

Running out of things to talk about.

Question 26

What does Emily tell George that other people are saying about him?

Answer 26

He has become conceded (stuck up) and that all he cares about is baseball.

Question 27

When George realizes he doesn’t have money to pay for the sodas, what does he give the drugstore owner as temporary payment?

Answer 27

His watch

Question 28

What advice does Mr. Webb give to George on the day of his wedding? What is the purpose of this comedic story?

Answer 28

Never ask advice on personal matters. He starts off by listing things like, don’t let your wife know how much money you make or show her who is in charge of the relationships. He ends by giving the advice to not ask advice on personal matters in order to show that matters between a husband and wife are personal and should be dealt with accordingly. Keep your private life private.

Question 29

What are the names of the three acts in Our Town?

Answer 29

Daily life, Love and Marriage, Death and the Afterlife

Question 30

What is the setting of Act III?

Answer 30

Cemetery for Emily’s funeral

Question 31

What day does Emily choose to return to re-live?

Answer 31

12th birthday

Question 32

What is the significance of the lack of scenery and curtain?

Answer 32

It forces the audience to remember they are watching a play. Wilder wanted people to think of their own lives while watching the play - not simply get sucked into the action.

Question 33

What roles does the stage manager take on during the play?

Answer 33

The minister, store owner, woman that George runs into on the street.

Question 34

Explain the importance of the repeated phrase (motif) “an ordinary day” in relation to theme and the realization that Emily makes in Act III.

Answer 34

Wilder wanted to show the beauty in even the simplest, least-exciting things

Question 35

Why is the play called Our Town instead of Grover’s Corners?

Answer 35

This helps people relate to it, no matter where they are from or what year it is

Question 36

Analyze “There is something way down deep that’s eternal about every human being.”

Answer 36

Reflects Wilder’s interest in finding the eternal among the details of daily life. Being truly present in the moment and seeing the big picture.

Question 37

Analyze “They’re sort of shut up in little boxes, aren’t they?”

Answer 37

Emily is talking about how people live day-to-day with what seems like blinders on. They are blind to the joys of life because they only see the next task in front of them.

Question 38

Analyze “Y’know – Babylon once had two million people in it, and all we know about ‘em is the names of the kings and some copies of wheat contracts…and contracts for the sale of slaves. Yet every night all those families sat down to supper, and the father came home from his work, and the smoke went up the chimney, - same as here.” - Stage Manager Act I

Answer 38

This demonstrates the commonality of human experiences and relationships, spanning all time periods and locations.

Question 39

analyze “That’s what it was to be alive. To movie about in a cloud of ignorance; to go up and down trampling on the feelings of those…of those about you. To spend and waste time as though you had a million years. To be always at the mercy of one self-centered passion, or another. - Simon Stimson Act IV

Answer 39

Simon is bitter and has a negative attitude towards people and life. He felt abandoned by everyone in life. No one reached out to help him when he needed it most. The townspeople didn’t want to get involved, and he felt rejected by their self-centered passions. He believes that living people don’t care who they hurt and waste their life with things that don’t matter because they think they have a millions years to live.

Question 40

Analyze “Oh, Mama, just look at me one minute as though you really saw me.”
“It goes so fast. We don’t have time to look at one another.”
“I can’t look at everything hard enough” - Emily (various quotes) Act IV

Answer 40

These quotes communicate Emily’s experience when she goes back and relives the day on earth. It is almost painful for her to watch, knowing what she knows now. Time is short and no one is taking time to be truly present with each other or notice the beauty in the smallest details.