Question

Read the excerpt below and answer the question. STAGE MANAGER: And as you watch it, you see the thing that they, down there, never know. You see the future. You know what's going to happen afterwards. EMILY: But is that...painful? Why? MRS. GIBBS: That's not the only reason why you shouldn't do it, Emily. When you've been here longer you'll see that our life here is to forget all that and think only of what's ahead and be ready for what's ahead. When you've been here longer you'll understand. EMILY: But, Mother Gibbs, how can I ever forget that life? It's all I know. It's all I had. In at least two hundred words, discuss the importance of memory in Act III of Our Town. How does the text illustrate this theme? Consider the way that memory influences the happiness of the characters, as well as how it fits into the overall theme of universality.

Answer 1

In the play Our Town, memory is an important element. The play touches on the topic of nostalgia, and on how humans tend to look back to the past with fondness. By doing this, they forget about enjoying the present, which reinforces the cycle.

An example is the character of Emily. She is now dead, and the dead advise her to stop looking toward the world of the living. She needs to let go of her past and move on. Moreover, she has to start looking towards her future and her new "life." However, Emily is incapable of letting go of her past. She is shocked to realize how humans do not appreciated life when it is going on, but instead take too much pleasure on their memories and their past. However, Emily is doing the same by being unable to let go of her past life and learning to appreciate what her present offers her.