WILLIAM SAROYAN - THE HUMAN COMEDY
William Saroyan´s book ”The Human Comedy” was published in 1943. Saroyan was born in 1908 in California
by immigrated Armenian parents. William Saroyan is one of America´s major twentieth century writers. He died
in 1982.
The main character is Homer Macauley, he is a fourteen-year-old boy. He comes from a poor but decent family.
The time is World War II. The place is Ithaca, in California´s san Joaquin Valley. Homer
determined to become the fastest telegraph messager and finds himself caught between reality and
illusion as delivering his messages of wartime death, love and money brings him face-to-face with human
emotions when they are most naked and raw. Daytime Homer is in School and when he is free from school
he works at a telegraph office. Except Homer the family members are Katey, Marcus, Bess and Ulysses. Katey
is a very understanding mother and she stands in close relation to her four children. Marcus, who is the eldest
son, is soldier in the War and he gets killed in the end of the book. Bess is the only daughter and she studies
at the University. Ulysses is the youngest in the family and he is a curious little boy. He is four years old and his
own adventures are humorous and comical episodes in the book. Matthew, the father died two years ago, when
Homer was twelve. The family bonds are very strong and the relations in the book are characterized by mutual
consideration, understanding and kindness.
”The Human Comedy” is gentle, piognant and richly autobiographical, this delightfull novel show a boy
becoming a man in a world that even in the midst of war appears sweeter, safer and more livable than our own.
In the chapter, which is about Ara´s Market you can see the autobiographical. The man, who is the owner of
Ara´s Market, and his son are immigrated from Armenia, as the Saroyan family is. They feel frustration and
they don´t feel quite comfortable in America.
Saroyan tries with ”The Human Comedy” to point out the American spirit. For example an Italian was
called ”wops” in the book, because he wasn´t a ”true” American. Then the book says ”This is America and
the only foreigners here are those who forget that this is America.”
The book is written in third person and the language is relatively easy despite that the book is written
for more than fifty years ago. The book consists of thirtynine short chapters, which conduce to that the
book is easy to read.
The book is lovely and there are lots of humanism in it and the characters act in an unordinary and
unexpected way, sometimes you wonder if it isn´t a bit exaggerated. I think that´s why the book is called
”The Human Comedy”. The humanity, the consideration, the magnanimity and the emotional feelings are
some of the most important thoughts in the book. The book also says that you won´t be cruel, small and mean.
I loved this novel. It ranks far up there on my list of the best, if not the best. It filled me both with happiness
and sadness, because of the kindness and the humanity between the characters in ”The Human Comedy”.
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