Our Town Short Summary

This is a play by Thornton Wilder. It commences by introducing Grover’s Corners, the play’s setting, as well as the play’s narrator who also communicates with the audience. The narrator is omniscient to the characters. The tiny town of Grover’s Corners is years away from its first motor vehicle, and most families live in the city their entire lives.

The first act introduces the Webb and Gibbs, families. The stage manager narrates the daily life of Grover’s Corners: the newsboy delivering the dailies, Dr. Gibbs heading to work and breakfast at the Webb family and so on. While the kids go to school, Mrs. Gibbs and Mrs. Webb normally converse momentarily. In the second part, Emily Webb, George Gibbs, and the children are interacting.

In act 2, three years have gone by. The usual daily activities go on as usual. However, George and Emily are to get married. In the meantime, the stage manager informs the audience that it all began when Emily and George argued about how their relationship had changed. After that, George brought Emily a soda while she was at the drug store. It was there that they confessed their love for one another. Now the couple is worried about facing life as adults.

The last act opens in the graveyard. Wallace Webb and Mrs. Gibbs had long died, and it was now Emily’s funeral. She died at childbirth, and the rest of the cast is preparing for her funeral. Mrs. Gibbs and Emily are watching from the other side. Emily decides to go back in time to her 12th birthday through the stage manager. After watching her family, she decides it is too much for her and returns to the graveyard. The dead then discuss life and how they do not understand its essence.