In the above quotation, the most significant idea that can be found is that there is a large gap between the generations.

Mrs. Gibbs is worried that her son, George, is becoming lazy and is unwilling to do chores around the house. As she complains to her husband, Dr. Gibbs, he's just no help to her anymore. Something's clearly gotten into him, but she doesn't know what.

Dr. Gibbs sits down with George and tries to get him to change his ways. He does this by making George feel guilty over not helping his mother out with the chores. But more subtly, he does this by raising George's spending money by twenty-five cents a week.

In doing so, Dr. Gibbs clearly understands that George is at that delicate age where he's beginning the difficult transition from childhood to adulthood. It's during our teenage years when the gap between the generations is most keenly felt, and George is no different in that regard.

His newfound laziness and reluctance to help his mother with the chores isn't a sign that George is bad, but rather that he's in the process of growing up, which, ironically, accentuates the generational gap between himself and his parents.

What are the significant ideas in the passage from Our Town by Thornton Wilder?

This passage from Our Town speaks to the coming of age process of George.

Here, in the first act, we see Doc Gibbs having a frank conversation with his son, George. Mrs. Gibbs has recently complained to her husband that George has become useless when it comes to doing the household chores. She fears that he is growing lazy and selfish. She wants her husband to set their son straight.

George is on the cusp of manhood. Like other teenagers, he is searching for his own identity. Part of this for him is shirking the responsibilities around the house that he had previously fulfilled. George is eager to make his own way in the world, and that means shaking off his parents’ expectations of him.

Throughout the story, we see this happening. At the start of the second act, George is preoccupied with his upcoming marriage to Emily. In fact, he now takes Emily’s advice more to heart than he does the advice of his parents. At the same time, he is concerned about the implications of being an adult. George also decides not to go to agricultural school, although that’s what his parents would most likely prefer.

So, we can see that although Mrs. Gibbs is concerned that her son is becoming lazy and useless to the family, George is simply growing up and wishing to find his own way in the world.