In the introduction to Our Town, Donald Margulies argues that Thornton Wilder's work is still representative of the “microcosm of the human family, American genre” (Marguiles xvii) . Margulie's assertion of the plausible modern application of Our Town is easily seen throughout the three acts with Wilder's themes of ritual and time. Enduring notions of ritual and time are specifically addressed and reinforced by Wilder's use of specific hymns and music in the three-act play. Our Town still belongs to the 21st century American family by capturing “the universal experience of being alive” and through Wilder's themes of ritual and time through the hymns and music that appear throughout the play (Marguiles xvii). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Wilder describes the American family accurately, complete with hypocrisies and mistakes along with the rituals of daily life. Our city shows that family life is centered on rituals that denote time, such as breakfast, starting high school, weddings, and church. These events and rites of passage ultimately provide a sense of comfort in their tradition, some rituals leaving a more lasting imprint on participants' memories than others. As time passes, little things go unnoticed, leaving only big events as unabashed monuments to the past. These life events and this general mentality still belong to our modern culture, even though breakfast may be skipped, weddings, graduations and funerals still remain rituals and are considered signs of the times, whether it is the beginning of a new phase of life, or the final chapter of an experience. While there's definitely a small-town feel surrounding the show, modern city dwellers can still relate to family life in our city, which offers all the comforts of home. Even in cities, people follow their rituals, ring their alarm clocks, read the newspaper or turn on the news in the morning and fasten their watches to keep track of the time. This ritual begins every morning, and time passes, and things are lost and realized later, just like our city is. To advance his major themes of ritual and time, Wilder weaves music into the everyday life of ritual and the passing of things. time. Some of the music used is associated with rituals, such as Mendelssohn's wedding march, still a common staple at weddings. Music such as Handel's Wedding March and Largo, referenced in unity with the start of high school, not only marks time and is part of a rite of passage, but the music itself is a ritual denoting a certain moment for which it is used. In contrast to the single moment of the event represented by the music, the hymn Blessed be the tie that binds serves as a constant reminder for Emily of happy days and is used in all three acts, becoming a yardstick for evaluating how time passes. Each time Blessed be the tie that binds is used, it has a different purpose, but achieves the same effect of coherence, time passing and ritual. The first time it is used is when the "choir...in the orchestra pit started singing 'Blest Be the Tie That Binds'" which is the background music in the scene where Emily and George talk to each other from their windows (Wilder 34). The hymn is later used at Emily and George's wedding and Emily's funeral, both rituals and markers in time still relevant and accessible to modern readers. The use of a hymn to tie the three acts together provides a.