Thornton Wilder creates a very interesting and different approach in his play "Our Town". ... Wilder's unusual and original idea of presenting a play with a plain and simple plot becomes a fascinating story with a valuable lesson. ... The weddings and funerals, which are in the play are easily understood and are also appealing to many readers. ... Finally, the use of the stage manager in this play is very important. ... He can tell the audience of events that happen in the past as well as the future, allowing the focus of the play to remain on the present most of the time. ...

• Word Count: 469
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

As the suffering outcast whose daughter cannot reciprocate his affection, Henchard is far grander--and far more sympathetic--than the leader of the town council at the King Arms' dinner. ... Still, among Hardy's would-be tragic heroes Henchard is rare; as the title page announces, he is "A Man of Character," a local economic leader as well as the town's mayor whose initial social and economic eminence render him more properly an Aristotelian tragic hero than Giles in The Woodlanders or Tess. ... Yet Eustacia herself remains worthy of our interest from beginning to end because sh...

• Word Count: 1167
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate