Topic > The Role of the Narrator in Our City

In many books, films, or plays, a writer sometimes includes an outside perspective beyond that of the main characters, that of someone who remembers specific details or events from that plot. Generally in these stories, this is known as the narrator, but in the play Our Town he is known as the Stage Manager. In Thornton Wilder's masterpiece, the stage manager serves as the narrator and one of the most important characters in the play; revealing the history of the city, foreshadowing the story, and providing information about the setting. The stage manager is the most important character in the show due to all the information he provides to the audience, which helps viewers understand the show and helps put it into perspective for them. 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 this play, the stage manager introduces the small town of Grover's Corners which he claims is in New Hampshire. One of the main reasons why this character is the most important person in the play is because he introduces the setting. He does this by explaining directly to the audience: “The first act shows a day in our city. The day is May 7, 1901. The time is just before dawn. The sky is beginning to show some streaks of light over there in the east, behind our mountain” (Wilder 5). Without the stage manager at the start of each scene, the audience wouldn't know what was happening, where or when. Each scene introduction provides the audience with vital information so that the audience is able to clearly understand Our City and paint a mental picture of what is being described. The description of the setting in the second scene helps the audience get a vivid idea of ​​what Gover's Corners looks like from what the stage manager says: “It's three years later. It's 1904. It's early in the morning, only this time it's raining. It rained and thundered. Mrs. Gibbs's garden and Mrs. Webb's garden are here: soaked. All those bean poles and pea vines: soaked. All yesterday down there on Main Street, the rain seemed as if the curtain had been raised” (Wilder 47). Describing the setting and helping the audience paint a mental picture is why the stage manager is the most important character in the show, especially to the audience. Without the transitions between scenes described by the Stage Manager, the transition between scenes would be awkward. Descriptive scene introductions aren't the only reason why the Stage Manager is important. Another reason why the stage manager shows pre-eminent importance over the other characters is due to the fact that he provides foreshadowing of events throughout the entire play. During the first scene, when Joe Crowell Junior delivers the papers and has a conversation with the stage manager, the stage manager subsequently informs us how smart and bright Joe's future was but then confesses, "He'll be a great engineer, Joe was , But the war broke out and he died in France” (Wilder 9). The stage manager also foreshadows Mrs. Gibbs' death by sharing: “Mrs. Gibbs died first, a long time ago, actually up there in the graveyard, along with a bunch of Gibbs and Hersey,” this foreshadowing prepares the audience to see her in the final act of the play at the graveyard with Emily (Wilder 7). In addition to foreshadowing, the stage manager proved to be a great asset useful for the audience when it comes to background information on Grover's Corner. It discusses things and people in town that aren't even entirely relevant to the main characters, but build a history of the town and paint a picture of a healthy community. unit. Discusses one of the cases.