Characters |
|
Nelson family |
Our Town – by Thornton Wilder |
Lara Kenison
Nelson Joe – husband Emily –
oldest daughter, future farmer Massie –
middle, future veterinarian Nell –
youngest, actress Farm – grew
cherries “stone fruit” Hazel – dog Masie and Ken
– Joe’s aunt and uncle Benny
Holzapetel – Emily’s boyfriend/fiancĂ© |
Characters: Stage Manager
Emily Webb Mr. and Mrs. Webb
Wally Webb George Gibbs Doc and Mrs.
Gibbs |
Others |
Productions at Tom Lake |
Sebastian
Duke – Peter’s brother, tennis player and coach Singularity
– movie featuring Lara Ripley –
Lara’s uncle, movie director |
Our Town Peter Duke –
Editor Webb Lara – Emily Albert Long “Uncle
Wallace” – Stage Manager (11th production) Joe Nelson – director,
understudy for Stage Manager Pallace –
understudy for Emily Fool for
Love Pallace and
Peter Duke |
NOTE: Page numbers are from the 2023 hardback edition.
1.
Did you have any trouble following the time
line? It took me awhile to figure out
that the italicized print was a signal to the reader that the time had changed.
2.
Discuss the various characters. Which did you like or not like? What did you think of Peter Duke as a person,
as an actor?
3.
Why was Emily so sure that Peter Duke was her
father?
4.
Were you surprised at the ending when Duke
wanted to be buried at the Nelson’s farm and that he had paid Joe’s aunt and
uncle a considerable sum of money to buy the plot?
5.
Did the passage on page 119 about play rehearsals
give you any insight into how much work goes into a production? For example, Lara narrated “We spent hours in
a dark theater, saying the same things to the same people again and again,
finding ways to make the world new.”
6.
The author referenced Moby Dick twice. Benny loaned his copy to Nell (page 99) and
Lara read the book to her grandmother when she could no longer see well enough
to read on her own (page 268). Also, Nell
references Herman Melville’s short story Bartleby the Scrivener when
someone closed a door in another’s face (page 185). Why did the author reference Melville and his
work three times?
7.
Lara and Joe did not tell their three girls
about their earlier lives until they were grown, and Lara still kept a secret
from Joe and the girls. Do you think it
is common for parents to have previous secret lives and not share with their
families?
8.
How important was knowledge about Our Town
to the reader’s appreciation of the novel?
9.
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?