Monday Essays (1022 words) - , Term Papers

Monday I've owned a tiny futon store in a small mall in the downtown area of a rather bantam city. This little hole in the wall had been my peaceful, get-away for nearly ten years. I rarely received attention from tourists, let alone the other business owners. I didn't bother anyone, and no one really bothered me. I kind of liked it like that. Then, of course, it had to change. Things always have a way of being good for a long time?. and then not being so good. I suppose I may be overexaggerating over what happened on that silly Monday afternoon. But then again, I may not be. I was sitting at my slightly hidden desk, the same way I had done for the past ten years or so without being bothered. I wasn't really working on anything because there wasn't really anything to work on, but I sat there anyway and did my best to appear to be busy. Then it happened. Like a drip of black ink on a sunset canvas, they entered the store. A young man and woman of about twenty years of age, both of whom I had never seen before, unknowingly changed my life forever. Do you mind if we argue on your couch? the woman asked as she sat herself down on the dark purple double flexifold futon. She was strangely beautiful and I found myself quickly looking away from her, as to avoid the hint that she had intrigued me. No, I mumbled, Go ahead. I don't even think she acknowledged my response because she had already assumed that it was alright. She tugged sharply on the young man's sweatshirt sleeve and he sat. How dare you?! she inquired, How dare you even ponder the thought in your mind, you sonofabitch?! She wasn't yelling. She was loud and clear, like a trumpet solo in A Night in Tunisia. At first, I had sort of assumed that the young man that she was angry with had been her brother?. twin perhaps. They stood at about the same height, both with straight blonde hair and somber brown eyes?. hers were much more striking as his seemed to be squinted. But as the conversation continued, I thought twice about the two being siblings. She's such a bitch, James! she spat the words towards him, as if she were trying to cut him with her tone. No, she's not?. James' simple response filled the woman with even more rage. I caught the look in her eyes and I felt the glow that was coming off of her. She was so insanely upset that the whole world was about to explode inside of her. This look scared me. She began a few stuttered sentences but soon realized that her emotions were not being understood by James, the lame-ass bastard as she called him. How can feel something for her? she asked softly. He had hurt her. Even I knew he had. I, who had never kept a relationship for longer than 4 months since middle school, knew he had hurt her. I, who felt trampled and completely lost in the field of women and all that they?. do, knew she was sad. I don't know, Sara?. The man began. I like her. She is--- ---a bitch! Sara filled in. She is a bitch and when I see her, I'm going to beat her down! How dare she pretend to be my friend! How dare she pretend to be my friend for three years, James, three years! She was leaning towards him to help make her voice be louder in his little ears. Her rage was amazing. I found it harder and harder to pretend to be a non-interested party. I hoped they didn't notice that I had set my pencil down and that I was forcing myself to stare at my stapler. Oh, how I wanted to see her. How I wanted to watch her. I don't really think she was pretending, James said, more to himself than to the acrimonious girl beside him. Well, she must have been, Sara assured him, But that is beyond the point that you, you crude bastard you, are dating this bitch that you don't even really like?. after I told you that it would

A Plot Summary of Our Town

A Plot Summary of Our Town Written by Thorton Wilder, Our Town is a play that  explores the lives of people living in a small, quintessentially American town. It was first produced in 1938 and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play is divided into three aspects of the human experience: Act One: Daily Life Act Two: Love / Marriage Act Three: Death / Loss Act One The Stage Manager, serving as the play’s narrator, introduces the audience to Grover’s Corners, a small town in New Hampshire. The year is 1901. In the early morning, only a few folks are about. The paperboy delivers papers. The milkman strolls by. Dr. Gibbs has just returned from delivering twins. Note: There are very few props in Our Town. Most of the objects are pantomimed. The Stage Manager arranges a few (real) chairs and tables. Two families enter and begin pantomiming breakfast. The Gibbs Family Dr. Gibbs: Hardworking, soft-spoken, disciplined.Mrs. Gibbs: The Doctor’s wife. She believes her husband is overworked and should take a vacation.George: Their son. Energetic, friendly, sincere.Rebecca: George’s little sister. The Webb Family Mr. Webb: Runs the town’s newspaper.Mrs. Webb: Strict but loving to her children.Emily Webb: Their daughter. Bright, hopeful and idealistic.Wally Webb: Her younger brother. Throughout the morning and the rest of the day, the townspeople of Grover’s Corner eat breakfast, work in town, do household chores, garden, gossip, go to school, attend choir practice, and admire the moonlight. Some of Act One’s More Compelling Moments Dr. Gibbs calmly chastises his son for forgetting to chop firewood. When George has tears in his eyes, he hands him a handkerchief and the matter is resolved.Simon Stimson, the church organist, leads the church choir while intoxicated. He staggers home drunk and deeply troubled. The constable and Mr. Webb try to assist him, but Stimson wanders away.  Webb wonders how the man’s sorry situation will end, but decided there is nothing to be done about it.Emily Webb and George Gibbs sit at their windows (according to the stage directions, they are perched on ladders). They talk about algebra and the moonlight. Their words are mundane, perhaps, but their fondness for each other is obvious.Rebecca tells her brother a funny story about a letter Jane Crofut received from a minister. It was addressed: Jane Crofut; The Crofut Farm; Grover’s Corners; Sutton County; New Hampshire; United States of America; North America; Western Hemisphere; the Earth; the Solar System; the Univers e; the Mind of God. Act Two The Stage Manager explains that three years have passed. It is the wedding day of George and Emily. The Webb and Gibbs parents lament how their children have grown so quickly. George and Mr. Webb, his soon-to-be father-in-law, awkwardly converse about the futility of marital advice. Before the wedding commences, the Stage Manager wonders how it all began, both this specific romance of George and Emily, as well as the origins of marriage in general. He takes the audience back in time a bit, to when George and Emily’s romantic relationship began. In this flashback, George is the captain of the baseball team. Emily has just been elected as the student body treasurer and secretary. After school, he offers to carry her books home. She accepts but suddenly reveals how she does not like the change in his character. She claims that George has become arrogant. This seems to be a false accusation, however, because George immediately apologizes. He is very grateful to have such an honest friend as Emily. He takes her to the soda shop, where the Stage Manager pretends to be the store owner. There, the boy and girl reveal their devotion to one another. The Stage Manager segues back to the wedding ceremony. Both the young bride and groom are scared about getting married and growing up. Mrs. Gibbs snaps her son out of his jitters. Mr. Webb calms his daughter’s fears. The Stage Manager plays the role of the minister. In his sermon, he says of the countless who have gotten married, â€Å"Once in a thousand times it’s interesting.† Act Three The final act takes place in a cemetery in 1913. It is set upon a hill overlooking Grover’s Corner. About a dozen people sit in several rows of chairs. They have patient and somber faces. The Stage Manager tells us that these are the dead citizens of the town. Among the recent arrivals are: Mrs. Gibbs: Died of pneumonia while visiting her daughter.Wally Webb: Died young. His appendix burst during a Boy Scout trip.Simon Stimson: Facing troubles the audience never understands, he hangs himself. A funeral procession approaches. The dead characters comment nonchalantly about the new arrival: Emily Webb. She died while giving birth to her second child. The spirit of Emily walks away from the living and joins the dead, sitting next to Mrs. Gibbs. Emily is pleased to see her. She talks about the farm. She is distracted by the living as they grieve. She wonders how long the sensation of feeling alive will last; she is anxious to feel like the others do. Mrs. Gibbs tells her to wait, that it is best to be quiet and patient. The dead seem to be looking to the future, waiting for something. They are no longer emotionally connected to the troubles of the living. Emily senses that one can return to the world of the living, that one can revisit and re-experience the past. With the help of the Stage Manager, and against the advice of Mrs. Gibbs, Emily returns to her 12th birthday. However, everything is too beautiful, too emotionally intense. She chooses to go back to the numbing comfort of the grave. The world, she says, is too wonderful for anyone to truly realize it. Some of the dead, such as Stimson, express bitterness to the ignorance of the living. However, Mrs. Gibbs and the others believe that life was both painful and wonderful. They take comfort and companionship in the starlight above them. In the last moments of the play, George returns to weep at Emily’s grave. EMILY: Mother Gibbs? MRS. GIBBS: Yes, Emily? EMILY: They don’t understand, do they? MRS. GIBBS: No, dear. They don’t understand. The Stage Manager then reflects upon how, throughout the universe, it may be that only the inhabitants of the earth are straining away. He tells the audience to get a good night’s rest. The play ends.