Back at Square One...
"I shall continue fighting you until my last breath as long as you mix up your idea of liberty with your idea of hogging everything for yourself...You and I want the same thing; but until you think of it as something that everyone has a right to, you are my deadly enemy and I will destroy you." (Wilder, Act III; page 111).
I chose to look at this quote because it reminded me of a conversation that took place in my philosophy class, and it embodied, at least for me, the central message of this play. The main idea of the discussion was that in order for anyone of us to be free requires that everyone else be free. If I want to be free, I need you to be free. It seems like humanity is always fighting for peace, and that war affects every generation, whether it be in progress, or the aftermath, or a relationship that was forged or ruined. The idea of this continuity, to me, is the very essence of the play. In this quote, Antrobus states that he will fight until his last breath to achieve his goal, and that is all any of us can do. In other words, we are limited and can only attempt to achieve our goals in our short existence, and we cannot depend on those who come after to realize our goals. Humanity is one long line of generations, but perhaps the lives of the individuals are so relatively short so as not to outlive the desire to begin anew. One generation ceases to exist, and a new one with the instinct and eagerness to continue evolves. We see this pattern of similar downfalls and familiar goals because we, as human beings, all instintively desire the same things, but we are only human so we enounter similar obstacles. When one generation ceases to exist, the next one is faced with a similar roller coaster of events. It's as if what happens only matters at that particular time and is bound to happen again. The end of the play is not written and this is where we come in because we will continue to add to what is the fate of humanity: to endure, to survive, to start again.
http://jerz.setonhill.edu/EL267/2009/03/wilder_the_skin_of_our_teeth/
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Christopher Dufalla on Back at Square One...: I see your point about fulfill
I see your point about fulfilling your own ideas and viewpoints. It all sort of falls back on that old saying, "if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." One must fulfill his/her own dream: no one else can do it for them.
Yes. It's almost as if you can't rely on anyone while you're here either. But no matter what you start during your lifetime, there is no guarantee that it will be carried on after you're gone. So it's no wonder humanity makes progress, only to digress to a previous state from time to time.