Under Milk Wood depicts Llareggub as a thriving community of engaged citizens who benefit from their participation in the experience of public life. On the contrary, the rumors that make their way around town are lighthearted, humorous, and ultimately unite the townspeople in a shared experience of the ups and downs of life. Yet there isn’t an inherent cruelty in Llareggub’s gossip. And most of the wives have an opinion on Polly Garter, a single mother who has affairs with many of their husbands. Captain Cat spends his days perched beside an open window, employing his acute sense of hearing to keep track of the day’s happenings, identifying the people who walk past him by the sound their feet make as they touch the cobblestoned streets. Willy Nilly, steam open and read all the townspeople’s mail, and Willy Nilly passes along the information he gleans from their snooping to people he encounters on the street as he makes his deliveries. Before heading to work, Llareggub’s postman, Willy Nilly, and his wife, Mrs. Organ Morgan’s general store or the town pump to trade bits of gossip. In a small town like Llareggub, news travels fast, and everyone knows everyone else’s business.

Second life gossip