"Our Town" is a synthetic play as the action is developed and consumed in itself. Characters act according to instinct and are caught in situations of everyday life. The characters evolve in simple situations which have an impact only in the near future. They do not return to their pasts or to actions which could have influenced their trajectory.
In Grover's Corner, New Hampshire, the families Webb and Gibbs live peaceful lives. Their destinies intersect with the one of the people who live close to them. The subject of the play is the town and the objective of the action is achieving full harmony. There is no other opponent of harmony than death and the linear atmosphere isn't complicated by intrigue or other conflict. Everything is based on destiny and the way it reflects itself in the human condition. There isn't anything mysterious or hidden about the characters, nothing in their pasts which can reveal "painful" truths about them. It is all about Emily and George who are a symbol of the community's unity. The way in which they evolve towards happiness is the main balance and peace which reign over the little town in New Hampshire.
Reading "Our Town," it is unlikely to have any kind of thrill or feeling. But this is exactly its purpose, to surprise life in its simplicity, that sort of unsophisticated and plain being, almost rural in essence. This is why here, the destiny isn't a burden like in the ancient tragedy, there are no heroes or heroines, only simple people with lives confined between birth and death, people who cannot deviate from their written course of life. Actually, the characters are so ordinary that they don't even want to be more than their condition lets them. The only moment of apparent riot is the one before Emily and George's wedding. Hesitation and uncertainty break through. This isn't a sign that the characters want to change their destinies, but a sign of pure human feebleness.
