book our town

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Book Our Town
In the book titled Our Town by Thornton Wilder, we shall look into some things that show the amount of control human being has over their life but they fail to recognise.
While George and Emily were drinking ice-cream sodas in Mr Morgan drugstore, George says, ‘‘Listen, Emily, I’m going to tell you why I’m not going to Agriculture School. I think that once you’ve found a person that you’re every fond of … I mean a person who’s fond of you too, and likes you enough to be interested in your character . . . Well, I think that’s just as important as college is, and even more so. That’s what I think.’’ (Wilder 68). This passage plays a big role in play’s critical moments. George’s way of thinking makes him not to see the need to go to agricultural school rather he decides to stay with Emily in Grover’s Corner. By making love a priority in the expense of education, George shows the human desires of companionship that spreads throughout the play. This very thinking is echoed by the Stage Manager latter in the play when he says, ‘‘Yes . . . People are meant to go through life two by two. Tain’t natural to be lonesome.’’(Wilder 53). By this George fails to see the importance of college and sets his mind on love, he doesn’t see that love should come later.
Towards the end of Act II Emily through her tears looks at the stage manger and asks, ‘‘Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it? Every, every minute?’’ (Wilder 100). The Stage Manager says, ‘‘No.

The saints and poets, maybe they do some.’’(Wilder 100). In the play, characters concentrate more on events of ceremony and consequences, such as wedding and funeral. The characters do not value emotional connection to their daily activities. When Emily was re-experiences her twelfth birthday, she tries to make her mother not to take her being there for granted. This also makes Emily know that during her life, she did not take great attention to her family and the town the way she does now that she is dead. Emily is angered by her realisation that human being waste great opportunities each time. This realisation kills her desire to get back to the world of the living. Instead of taking an attempt to realise life the people of Grover’s Corner lack any sense of what passes in front of their eyes.
At the start of Act III, stage manager delivers a passage during his monologue that prefaces the thinking of the dead, who think that humans don’t understand the true importance of existence, ‘‘Now there are some things we all know, but we don’t take’ni out and look at’m very often. We all know that something is eternal. And it ain’t houses and it ain’t names, and it ain’t earth, and it ain’t even the stars . . . Everybody knows in their bones that something is eternal and that something has to do with human beings. All the greatest people ever lived have been telling us that for five thousand years and yet you’d be surprised how people are always losing hold of it. There’s something way down deep that’s eternal about every human being.’’ (Wilder 81). The Stage Manager articulates his thoughts implying that humans possess the information that something is eternal but lack the understanding of what is entailed in eternal. This show how human beings lack to appreciate what life offers and take advantage of that and live life to the fullness without missing anything.
Conclusion
From the above-analysed point, it can be seen that characters in the play have a free will to make choices about their life. They can choose where to go, who to marry and when to marry. Also, they fail to see other things which life has to offer due to their concentration to other less important things. Hence, it is fair and correct to say that people have control over their life but they fail to recognise it.