Our Town
In the play "Our Town", by Thornton Wilder, a character by the name of Simon Stimson makes a very insightful statement about people and their lives. Simon is dead and buried, as well as several of the play's other characters, when a newly-dead young woman named Emily joins their ranks and begins to realize the triviality and ignorance of her existence, as well as that of every living person. The dead are discussing this insignificance and unawareness of the living when Simon comments with disgust on how much living persons waste their life, asserting, "To spend and waste time as though you had a million years." In this statement, Simon is referring to the degree of which people take their lives for granted. People are often so busy and so consumed by relatively minor matters that they never stopped to realize how truly special everything is. They go about their days following strict schedules and routines, always rushing about to meet their many obligations, and never take the time to simply cherish even the small things. Most people wake-up in the morning, rush about to leave for school or their jobs, work or learn all day, only to come home and have yet more obligations to take care of, never once taking time out to stop and enjoy things for themselves. Simon is referring to the daily routines and events the consume people's lives as a waste of time, for they do not realize how genuinely short their lives are. Simon is upset with people for never taking time to admire the beauty that surrounds their lives, never cherishing the time they have with others, and even being ignorant of life's small pleasures, such as fresh clothes and hot baths. People live their lives working towards something they think will always be attainable, setting their eyes on the future, living for the future, rushing for the future, and ignoring the present. With "Our Town", Thornton Wilder is attempting to show us these faults and trying to persuade us to live in and for the