Austin+The+Human+Comedy

"The writer is a spiritual anarchist, as in the depth of his soul every man is. He is discontented with everything and everybody. The writer is everybody's best friend and only true enemy - the good and great enemy. He neither walks with the multitude nor cheers with them. The writer who is a writer is a rebel who never stops." (from //The William Saroyan Reader//, 1958)

William Saroyan (1908-1981) Born August 31, 1908 in Fresno, California, William Saroyan was an American author and playwrite during the twentieth century. After his father's death in 1911, Saroyan and his siblings were put in an orphanage in Oakland, California for the next five years. The family reunited after their mother had found work and he spent the remainder of his childhood living in Fresno. It was his mother who first inspired him to become a writer. After learning to type in a technical school, he supported himself by taking up odd jobs and publishing his first works in the 1930's. Saroyan was then enlisted into the army during WWII and was stationed in London as a part of a film unit. He was married to Carol Marcus in 1943, and had two children, a son and a daughter. Dug into deep debt throughout his life, Saroyan spent most of the sixties and seventies trying to get out, which he did eventually do, all the while writing more stories. On Monday, May 18, 1981, Saroyan died of prostate cancer at age 72. "Everybody has got to die," he had said, "but I have always believed an exception would be made in my case." Half of his ashes were buried in California, and the remainder in Armenia.

The Human Comedy The Human Comedy is the story of fourteen year old Homer Macauley. Homer is a young boy growing up in the town of Ithaca, California in 1943, right in the middle of World War Two. The Macauley family consists of Mrs. Macauley, Marcus, the oldest in the family, Bess, second oldest, Homer, and four year old Ulysses. Mr. Macauley had died two years earlier and Marcus is in the army, fighting overseas. Bess is in college and Mrs. Macauley works packing during the summer. They are not a wealthy family, but they get by and are happy. "He's a good boy... Comes from a good, poor family on Santa Clara Avenue. No father. Brother in the Army. Mother works in the packinghouses in the summer. Sister goes to State College. He's a couple of years underage, that's all" (Saroyan, 19). Homer has taken a job as a telegraph delivery boy at a station managed by Mr. Spangler and Mr. Grogan. Homer still attends school and works restlessly to provide for his family. With his father dead and Marcus in the army, the responsibility falls on him to make the money for the family. This book goes through the every day life of the Macauley family and reveals all their struggles, accomplishments, and character. Throughout the book, Homer finds himself facing all sorts of trials and challenges. He must look inside himself to discover who he is and what it is he's doing with himself. "Oh, I want to, all right, but I don't know where to start. I didn't know anything until i got this job. I knew a lot of things, but I didn't know the half of it, and maybe I never will, either. Maybe nobody ever will. If anybody should, though, I should. I want to know, and I'll always want to know, and I guess I'll always keep trying, but how can you ever know? How can any man ever really get it all straight so that it makes sense?" (Saroyan, 99). The book jumps around from character to character, though it's main focus is Homer. He competes in school competitions, delivers messages of death, and learns what it takes to become a man. Other events that occur include Ulysses getting caught in an animal trap, a late night hold-up, and a gang of young boys. Throughout the book you get to know Ithaca and it's citizens as though you have your whole life. Everyone has a story to tell. Saroyan's original intent for writing this story was to inspire hope to people during the hard times of WWII, and it worked quite well. The books optimistic views and light, innocent feel was just the right type of novel for such a dark, sad time. Saroyan had actually intended the story to be a film, but when he was kicked off the procuction team and the film's new plot displeased him, he quickly wrote the novel to portray how the story was really to be told.

For More Information

For summaries on the book: http://www.bookrags.com/The_Human_Comedy http://www.mainewriting.com/comedy.html

For a complete summary with ending: http://hem.passagen.se/sovili/saroyan.htm

My Opinions

I feel that this was an outstanding book in all aspects. The book itself was written in a very simple style of language so it was a fairly easy read. However, it had a depth to it that was never directly stated, but rather implied at a very deep level. It was full of symbolism and metaphors that added an incredible amount of sustance to an otherwise simple and plain story. The plot line wasn't all that complicated or entertaining, however it did have characters that livened up the story quite a bit. This book is probably on the outstanding books list because of its deep symbolic story and because it will make you sit and think about what you've just read. I enjoy books that aren't too wordy, have good story lines, and will make you think. I feel that if you can read a book and not have to think about what you read, it wasn't worth reading. This book had almost everything I like. It was a simple read and it went quickly, the depth of the story was fascinating, and I thought about what I was reading. I felt this book raises some good points about life and I would definately recommend this book to anyone wanting a quick, interesting, and deep book.

Literary Elements Point of View: The entire book has a third person point of view

Style: This book has a very light and easy-going style

Genra: This book falls under the genra of historical fiction

Works Cited


 * Saroyan, William. __The Human Comedy.__ Orlando. 1943.
 * "Saroyan, William." __Encarta.__ 2008. MSN. 10/17/08  http://encarta.msn.com/related_761577318_0.1/Death_and_Dying_Everybody_has_got_to_die_.html#tcsel
 * "William Saroyan." The William Saroyan Society. 10/01/08. 10/17/08.   http://www.williamsaroyansociety.org/
 * "The Human Comedy: Novel". __Wikipedia.__ 25, August, 2008. 10/17/08.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Human_Comedy_(novel