The Bridge Of San Luis Rey. By Thornton Wilder
People who thinks of Thornton Wilder primarily in terms of his classic novella "Our Town," The Bridge of San Luis Rey will seem like quite a switch. For one thing, he has switched countries; instead of middle America, he deals here with Peru. He has switched eras, moving from the twentieth century back to the eighteenth. He has also dealt with a much broader society than he did in "Our Town," representing the lower classes and the aristocracy with equal ease. But despite these differences, his theme is much the same; life is short, our expectations can be snuffed out with the snap of a finger, and in the end all that remains of us is those we have loved.
The novella ...
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Juniper is shocked into a metaphysical thought: "If there were any pattern in the universe at all, any plan in a human life, surely it could be discovered mysteriously latent in those lives so suddenly cut off. Either we live by accident and die by accident, or we live by plan and die by plan. And in that instant Brother Juniper made the resolve to inquire into the secret lives of those five persons, that moment falling through the air, and to surprise the reason of their taking off" (Wilder, 5).
This is the wonderful premise behind Wilder’s examination of the connected lives of these five people. Several of them never actually meet, any more than we "meet" people with whom we happen to ride an elevator but, each of them knows someone who knows one of the other victims. Wilder goes on to clear up the stories of their lives, devoting a chapter to each of the major characters: The old woman, The Marquesa; The young man, Esteban; and the old man, Uncle Pio. ...
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later they started back to Lima, and while crossing the bridge of San Luis Rey the accident which we know befell them" (Wilder, 39).
The next story tells of a twin, Esteban. He and his brother Manuel are foundlings, raised in the same convent as Pepita herself had been. However, Pepita, as we know, was taken in by a wealthy woman, while Manuel and Esteban seem to have fended much more for themselves. The boys are very close, even speaking an invented language (not an uncommon phenomenon among twins). Esteban becomes very jealous of Manuel when he attracts the attention of a celebrated actress and serves as her secretary. Esteban is not jealous because he wants the attention of ...
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"The Bridge Of San Luis Rey. By Thornton Wilder." Essayworld.com. January 8, 2006. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Bridge-San-Luis-Rey-Thornton-Wilder/39279.
"The Bridge Of San Luis Rey. By Thornton Wilder." Essayworld.com. January 8, 2006. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Bridge-San-Luis-Rey-Thornton-Wilder/39279.
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