Thornton Wilder’s Our Town on this website: centralschools.org/˜shs/OWour_town.pdf.
*Then, read Thornton Wilder’s Our Town on this website: centralschools.org/˜shs/OWour_town.pdf. Take notes about the characters and their actions and words as you read the play. *Procure a copy of Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night. Suggestion: Amazon.com has over two hundred copies of the play with a beginning price of $.56—that’s fifty-six cents! You pay for shipping, but the price is right. Please annotate the play as you read it, highlighting characters’ diction and the action of the play. vWrite a paper of 500-800 words that answers the following prompt: In a well-organized essay (following MLA standards) argue and support your claim regarding which play is more relevant and more reflective of today’s society and family structure. Our Town reflects the basic standards of living and addresses those elements that repeat through the centuries: birth, education, marriage, children, and death. Long Day’s Journey into Night enters into those elements of life that Eugene O’Neill experienced in a dysfunctional family unit: addiction, lassitude, despair, and grief. Again, which play reflects today’s family structure in a more relevant manner? USE EXCERPTS/QUOTATIONS FROM THE PLAYS TO SUPPORT YOUR CLAIM. *YOU MAY ALSO USE OUTSIDE SOURCES LIKE STATISTICS, SOCIOLOGICAL ESSAYS, REVIEWS OF THE PLAYS—LIKE SPARKNOTES—OR ANY OTHER SOURCE WHICH WILL ADD SUPPORT TO YOUR CLAIM, BUT, PLEASE, REMEMBER TO DOCUMENT THESE SOURCES AND PROVIDE A WORKS CITED PAGE AT THE END OF YOUR PAPER.
