Thornton Wilder’s Our Town
Thornton Wilder’s Our Town presents a theatrical drama of live performances before the audience and a script compost with the objective of enactment. A significant feature of theatrical drama that appears pertinent to religious experiences is the metatheatre. However, since its inception, scholars have debated the incidence of the biblical worldview in the play. Scholars have given attention to the influence of the play on reality, sense of life, and the world. Even though the play consist of religious premises and Christian trappings, it does not present an overtly biblical worldview theatrical drama.
The conventional biblical view is absent from the play because the author wants a set of funeral that suggests heaven, consisting of “sun and moon and stars” as well as the Blue Mountains. Wilder also stresses more pagan environment than a traditional cemetery. Even if the wedding in Act II occurs in a Protestant church, the story does not mention other Christian conventional symbols. The cemetery induces native societies that handle their dead by setting them out on top of mountain as opposed to burying them. Contrastingly, the parable of Hidden Treasure and the Pearl in Matt 13:44-46 relates to the kingdom of God and human salvation is worth any sacrifice required for its possession (Scholtzb 3). Hidden treasures were uncommon in the ancient world and a person would not put his valuables in a safety deposit box. To that end, most people preferred to bury their treasure for keeping them safe. The Stage Manager also speaks of grievers being offended by “rainy days, time, and sunny days” as opposed to a church scenery. He appears to advise that it would be better to use civilization as an approach to achieving the wait for eternity.
The biblical premises highlighted in the play fails to provide an overreaching approach to understanding God, the universe, and man’s connection to his creator. The wedding in Act II along with several protestant hymns are not an openly biblical worldview. The descriptions given by Stage Manager’s at the inauguration of Act III makes the cemetery appear heavenly, but does not offer the traditional view of heaven in the traditional conception of God and His relation to humankind. Biblically speaking, heaven is described as a place above the earth. The cemetery is, however, on a top of the hill with a clear view of the sky and the nearby mountains. Primarily speaking, the mountains are New Hampshire landmarks, and the towns listed represent the real New Hampshire towns. The Stage Manager adds, “There, quite a way down, is Grover’s Corners.” In short, the cemetery is not part of Grover’s Corners. The controversial aspect of this statement is that the real New England town does not have a cemetery.
The Pearl of Great price relates to a traveling, wealthy, and substantial trader merchant. The emphasis stands on the magnitude of the sacrifice that the merchant undergoes to obtain it. He illustrates that no cost is overly high when the ultimate price is gaining the kingdom of God. Given that the Kingdom of God is worthy of every sacrifice. Contrary to this parable, the play represents anyone’s hometown and bases on an allegory about the meaning of life that the author seemingly finds insignificant events that occur through the generations. In the play, Mrs’ Gibbs and her daughters find deep interest in the outside world. She loves to travel and tries to escape the confines of Grover’s Corners. In that regard, the characters depict a picture of deception in believing that there is significant value in chasing worldly materials.
Conclusively, Wilder’s theatrical drama has numerous Christian trappings that do not reflect the actual biblical view of the kingdom of God. The author emphasizes civilization as opposed to eternity, as evidenced by the Stage Manager’s assertions. The setting of the story appears more pagan compared to a traditional cemetery where traditional Christians buried treasure as s an example of the exceptional value of salvation.