Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
The Human Comedy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 First edition cover |
|
| Author | William Saroyan |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Harcourt |
| Released | 1 February 1943 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| ISBN | NA |
The Human Comedy is a novel by William Saroyan. Homer Macauley is a 14 year-old boy growing up fatherless in the San Joaquin Valley of California during World War II. His oldest brother is off fighting the war, and Homer feels he needs to be the man of the family. The novel was written to give hope during World War II.
Contents |
The Human Comedy also has several references to Homer's Odyssey. Homer is both the name of the author of the Odyssey and the main character in this novel. Homer's young brother's name, Ulysses, is the Roman form of the name Odysseus, the Odyssey's protagonist. The theme of both of the books is going home. Ithaca, is both Homer's and Ulysses' home-town in the novel, and Odysseus' home-island in the Odyssey.
The novel was made into a film in 1943. It stars Mickey Rooney, Frank Morgan, James Craig, Marsha Hunt, Fay Bainter, Ray Collins, Van Johnson and Donna Reed.
The movie was adapted by Howard Estabrook and directed by Clarence Brown.
Questionable order of events: Saroyan wrote a movie treatment and a screenplay that he was asked to direct. He was paid off and removed from the project when his film proved to be more than two hours long. Saroyan was not at all happy with the film as completed by Brown, and he wrote his novel from the script he produced. The novel was published at the same time as the film's release with the intent of countering the film version of the story. There are noticeable differences between the film and the novel, including a stronger characterization of Ulysses, the small boy, in the novel and far fewer scenes of sentiment than were incorporated into the film by Estabrook and Brown (social criticism is also much blunter in the novel). See: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0765490/bio http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:oW7ZBQ0TQxwJ:www.rottentomatoes.com/m/human_comedy/about.php+Human+Comedy+Novel+Film&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=37
It won the Academy Award for Best Story and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Mickey Rooney), Best Cinematography, Black-and-White, Best Director and Best Picture.
It was also adapted into a 1984 Broadway musical by Galt MacDermot and Bill Dumaresq. It starred Stephen Geoffreys, Rex Smith, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. A commercial failure, it closed on April 15, 1984, only 10 days after its official opening.
- The story of The Human Comedy, Homer and Ulysses in particular is based on Saroyan's life, living fatherless with his siblings and his mother.
- Ithaca, California is based on real town of Fresno, Saroyan's home-town