In Our Town, Thornton Wilder develops the idea of ​​appreciating life because what is taken for granted will eventually be taken away and you will end up losing what you least appreciated. The show takes us to a small town and we see how simple life is, to the point that we might get bored due to the similarity to our own lives. After witnessing events in the play that we might previously have perceived as large and important, portrayed as relatively simple and straightforward, we begin to wonder how important these events are in our lives. Not until death. Our City shows us that everything in life is unique and special, so we should appreciate every moment. Wilder uses a rather unconventional shift in focus often moving back and forth between large and small events to show the significance of each moment. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay At the beginning of the show, we are taken to a simple, unremarkable moment in Grover's Corners, Dr. Gibbs stopping to talk to Joe the paper boy. Although many see it as boring and plotless, it is meant to represent the actions we take every day that become part of our routine and begin to lose meaning. Dr. Gibbs asks him if there is anything serious going on in the world, to which Joe replies "Yes, sir. My school teacher, Miss Foster is getting married to a boy in Concord" (p. 9). This statement shows that our perception of large and small events is relative. Most people would think that a major event in the world would address much bigger issues than the wedding of a local teacher, but in Joe's eyes this is really big news. This transition between large and small events shows us that the small moments in life are just as important as the big ones. At the beginning of the show, the stage manager introduces Doc Gibbs and his wife. Immediately after introducing them, he states "Dr. Gibbs died in 1930... Mrs. Gibbs died first, a long time ago, in fact" (p. 8). Already knowing about his death, we see his actions in the play differently. If Doc Gibbs had known he would die in 1930, he would have lived life differently, cherishing every moment and spending time with his family. Wilder is trying to teach us the way we should live our lives. We know nothing about what happened between now and his death, but we can assume that much of his life was the same as it always was. By living a simple life and not paying attention to his surroundings, we can simply remove years of his life from the story without changing it. Although many people live their lives aiming for a point in the future, once that point arrives their life will be largely the same and time spent waiting is time wasted and unappreciated. Time Compression shows us the importance of time and how each unique moment should be cherished rather than racing towards a point in the future. Act III begins to conclude Wilder's lessons by clearly showing us that we do not fully appreciate life. The act begins with Emily's funeral, however, the focus of the act is not her funeral but her experience in the afterlife. Emily enters the afterlife at his funeral and sits in a chair next to Mrs. Gibbs. He is happy to be there, but still thinks like a living person. He begins to tell Mrs. Gibbs about their new drinking fountain and tells her "We bought it with the money you left us," to which Mrs. Gibbs replies "Yes?" (p. 88). Emily still thinks that money.