Pessimism in Thornton Wilder's "Our Town"

Thornton Wilder epitomizes pessimism in "Our Town" through the everyday actions of the characters, the trivialness of life, and the attitudes of the dead toward their once loved world. People are spent through their meaningless everyday tasks, characters are shown to be worthless in comparison to the universe, and the attitudes of the dead about life are dull. These effects add up to illustrate Wilder's idea of pessimism. One way Wilder shows pessimism in "Our …

…dead toward life on earth. Thornton Wilder exemplifies pessimism in "Our Town" through the everyday actions of the characters, the trivialness of life, and the attitudes of the dead toward their once loved world. People are used up through their empty daily tasks, characters are shown to be insignificant compared to the universe, and the attitudes of the dead about life are monotonous and depressing. These effects add up to illustrate Wilder's idea of pessimism.