The Human Comedy (film)
"The Human Comedy" is a film that originated from a 1943 script by Armenian American author William Saroyan, though he was removed from the project due to creative differences. The story centers around Homer Macauley, a fourteen-year-old boy navigating life without his father during World War II. As he takes on the responsibility of the man of the family, working at a local telegraph office, he confronts the harsh realities of adulthood, including delivering the tragic news of a soldier's death to a grieving family. The narrative not only reflects the impact of war but also draws inspiration from Homer's epic, "The Odyssey," through character names and thematic elements.
The film, which starred Mickey Rooney and Donna Reed, was released in 1943 and won the Academy Award for best story. Additionally, it has been adapted for television and Broadway. Despite Saroyan's declining prominence over time, "The Human Comedy" remains a significant representation of his ability to bridge high and popular culture, embodying themes of American optimism and humanism that continue to resonate in academic discussions. This coming-of-age story ultimately explores the transition from childhood innocence to the complexities of adult life.
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The Human Comedy (film)
Identification Novel written in the form of loosely connected stories about a boy growing up during World War II
Author William Saroyan (1908-1981)
Date First published in 1943
The Human Comedy was a best-selling novel that typified the move toward positivism in popular entertainment during the most challenging phases of World War II.
The Human Comedy began as a 1943 film script by Armenian American author William Saroyan. Saroyan wrote the story for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), but he was fired because of creative differences. He quickly turned the script into a series of interrelated nostalgic and pensive stories that follow Homer Macauley, a fourteen-year-old boy growing up fatherless during World War II. Homer’s older brother Marcus is a soldier destined to never return, so the young boy matures to become the man of the family, taking an evening job with the local telegraph office. In one of the novel’s more poignant scenes, Homer has to inform a family that a son has been killed. Homer’s siblings include a four-year-old brother named Ulysses, and some of the more powerful passages in the novel are told from his point of view.
The script and novel were created to offset the constant negative news from the war in Europe, and as such they were extremely popular. The Human Comedy, nonetheless, transcends simple Americana, as it alludes to Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, through various character names and traits, the journey motif, place names, and relationships. For example, Homer’s hometown is Ithaca, and he is in love with a young girl named Helen. Historian Steven Mintz describes The Human Comedy as a coming-of-age story in which the boys “gradually escape the fantasy world of childhood and become aware of the imperfections, sorrows, and tragedies of the adult world.” The 1943 film, completed without Saroyan, won the Academy Award for best story and was adapted for television in 1959, and later for Broadway in 1984. Told from the point of view of the deceased father and through Marcus’s stories, the film starred Mickey Rooney and Donna Reed.
Impact
Although Saroyan has lost some stature as an author, The Human Comedy is the paramount example of his ability to write for both high and popular culture. The original screenplay garnered an Oscar for the author, while the novel is studied in academia as an example of writing that affirms American optimism and humanistic values.
Bibliography
Floan, Howard R. William Saroyan. Twayne’s United States Authors Series, 100. New York: Twayne, 1966.
Leggett, John. A Daring Young Man: A Biography of William Saroyan. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002.
Stevens, Janice. William Saroyan: Places in Time. Fresno, Calif.: Craven Street Books, 2008.