OUR TOWN-FREE BOOKNOTES/ANALYSIS

ACT I, SECTION 3

Summary

The Stage Manager introduces the audience to Mr. Willard, who teaches at the State University. The professor proceeds to give a meticulous, but boring, account of the geological and anthropological history of Grover’s Corners. When he states that the population of the town is 2,640, he is corrected by the Stage Manager, who tells him that the population has just increased by two new additions.

The Stage Manager next introduces Mr. Webb, the publisher and editor of the local newspaper. He gives a statistical account of the political and religious leanings of the town; his findings show that most citizens belong to the lower middle class, 86% of the people are Republicans, 85% are Protestants, and 90% of the young people choose to settle in Grover’s Corners. The Stage Manager throws open the floor for the audience to ask questions of Mr. Webb. One woman wishes to know if there is much drinking in the town; another man wants to know whether the town is aware of social injustice and industrial inequality; and one lady wants to know if there is any culture and love of beauty in Grover’s Corners. Mr. Webb replies that there is not much drinking in the town, the citizens are not too concerned about social disparities, and there is limited culture.

The Stage Manager next skips forward to early afternoon when the children are returning from school. George catches up with Emily and asks her to help him with his algebra homework. He jokingly says that they should set up a telegraph system between their windows since he needs so much help. He then compliments Emily on her intelligence. She modestly replies that it is nothing special; it is just the way a person is born. Before he leaves for baseball practice, George talks to Emily about his dream of becoming a farmer.

When Emily arrives at home, she helps her mother to string the beans. As she works, she asks her mother if she is pretty. With practicality, her mother declares that she is “pretty enough for all normal purposes.” The Stage Manager passes by and waves to them. He then proceeds to talk about the new bank building, which is being contracted by Cartwrights. He lists the items that are to be enclosed in its cornerstone. The Stage Manager thinks that a copy of Our Town should be included; it would give a good picture of how the local residents grew up, got married, and died. In the background, the church choir can be heard singing an appropriate hymn: “Blessed be the tie that binds our hearts in human love.” At the end of the hymn, Simon Stimson, the choir director, says that music came into the world to give pleasure. He then suggests that the choir, which includes Mrs. Gibbs and Mrs. Webb, needs to sing more softly. He also asks how many of them can sing at Fred Hersey’s wedding.

Two ladders are propped on stage to denote the second story of the houses of the Gibbs and Webbs. George and Emily are seen climbing the ladders and beginning their homework. George soon calls Emily for help with a math problem. After explaining how to work the algebra, Emily draws his attention to the lovely moonlight. In the distance, there is the faint rumbling of a train on its way to Contoocook. Later in the evening, Mr. Gibbs is seen fussing at George for his irresponsible behavior and his failure to help Mrs. Gibbs with the chores. He does, however, agree to raise George’s allowance from twenty-five to fifty cents a week since he is getting older. In return, he is expected to help his mother more.

On the way back from choir practice, Mrs. Soames complains to Mrs. Webb and Mrs. Gibbs about Simon Stimson’s being drunk during rehearsal. Mrs. Gibbs says that everyone, including Dr. Ferguson, knows about his drinking problem; if the minister can look the other way, they will have to do the same. When Mrs. Gibbs enters her house, her husband scolds her for being late and gossiping with the other women. Mrs. Gibbs tells him that they were discussing how long Dr. Ferguson would choose to ignore Simon’s drinking problems. Dr. Gibbs, who claims to know all about Simon’s problems, remarks that “some people ain’t made for small-town life.” Mrs. Gibbs then tells her husband the shocking news that Mrs. Fairchild now locks her front door at night. Her husband rues the fact that the town is growing “citified.”

The Stage Manger enters and says it is 9.30 p.m.; it is apparent that most of the lights in town have been extinguished. Constable Warren is then seen patrolling Main Street. He greets Mr. Webb and tells him that Simon Stimson is “rollin’ around a little.” Just then, Simon comes wobbling down the street and passes them without a word. Mr. Webb tells the Constable to keep an eye out for his son; if he ever spots him smoking, he should scold the boy. The constable agrees to do his part and then bids Mr. Webb goodnight.

As Mr. Webb approaches home, he sees his daughter peering from the window upstairs. He asks her why she is still awake. Emily replies that she is fascinated by the moonlight. Mr. Webb does not scold her; instead, he warns her not to let her mother catch her up so late. George Gibbs and his sister, Rebecca, are also awake and talking to each other. The Stage Manager abruptly interrupts the conversation to announce the end of the first act. He tells the audience that they can go out and have a smoke during intermission.

Notes

More information about the town is disseminated via the pedagogical account of the town’s history by Prof. Willard and is continued in a similar strain by Editor Webb, who provides the statistical data about the composition of the town along religious, social, and political lines. The Stage Manager then opens the floor to the audience to ask questions of Mr. Webb. The questions that are posed are significant and pointed. Editor Webb’s answers point out the “ordinariness” of the town. He shows that Grover’s Corners is a sheltered environment, where people are quite oblivious to “social injustice and industrial inequality” amid their “limited culture.”

More is learned about George and Emily. He is an avid baseball player who struggles with his schoolwork. She is an intelligent, dreamy teenager, who romanticizes the moonlight and worries about her appearance. During this section, the relationship between the two of them is developed and becomes more important in the next act. It is obvious that the two teenagers are attracted to one another. Emily is comfortable enough with George to scold him about spending too much time playing baseball, to the point of ignoring friends and family. George is already comfortable enough with her to reveal his dream of becoming a farmer; he also says that he will never let baseball come before her. The foundation has been clearly set for the “two by two” arrangement mentioned in Act II, entitled “Marriage.”

The Stage Manager has the ingenious idea of inserting a copy of Our Town in the cornerstone of the new bank building. The idea reflects Wilder’s concern about making people aware of the wonder of their ordinary lives. The Stage Manager seems to understand this concept. He is not concerned about the statistical or superficial information about Grover’s Corners. What he wants to preserve for posterity is a vision of how the people lived. He wants future generation to know “the way we are in our growing up and in our marrying and in our living and in our dying.” He feels that the play captures these things.

According to Wilder, “real life” is the insignificant things that make up a day, combined with the significant events like growing up, marrying, and dying. Together, these events are “the ties that bind,” as reflected in the hymn being sung in the background. To illustrate the “realness” of life in Grover’s Corners, Wilder presents a series of small, unconnected vignettes of small town living.

In one scene, Emily and George are applying themselves to schoolwork, with George calling the intelligent student for help with his algebra. In another scene, a dreamy Emily asks her mother to give her reassurance that she is an attractive teenager. Doc Gibbs is seen having an earnest conversation with George about his allowance and responsibility. In another scene, the church choir is practicing under the direction of an inebriated Stimson. Then on the way home, the choir women gossip about Stimson’s drinking problem and wondering when the minister, Dr. Ferguson, will do something about it. He seems to be the only character in the play who does not fit into the village-scheme-of-things.

The first act is justifiably called “Daily Life.” It begins in section one just before dawn and covers the ordinary, humdrum activities of the day, drawing to a close on the same night. The audience sees the milkman delivering milk, the constable patrolling the streets, the newsboy delivering the paper, the mothers preparing breakfast and getting their children off to school, the fathers coming home from work, the children doing their schoolwork, the friends talking while helping each other with their chores. The action is truly ordinary and, therefore, recognizable and universal. In spite of the general contentment with small town existence, some of the characters do have a dream. George wants to escape Grover’s Corners and become a farmer; Emily romanticizes the moonlight and dreams of falling in love; Mrs. Gibbs dreams of going to Paris, even though she accepts it will never materialize.

As the first act comes to an end, the town is darkened, for it is bedtime. George and his sister, Rebecca, attempt to have a conversation, the Stage Manager abruptly interrupts and cuts them short. He announces that it is the end of the first act. His abrupt intrusion accomplishes two things: 1) the audience is brought back to the fact that this play is not traditional drama, but is controlled and narrated by the Stage Manager; and 2) it is a reminder to the audience that it is “theater,” not real life, that they are watching.

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