The Human Comedy

The Human Comedy is a 1943 novel by William Saroyan. It originated as a 240-page film script written for MGM. Saroyan was planning to produce and direct the film, but he was dropped from the project either because the script was too long or because a short film he directed as a test was not considered acceptable — or both. He walked off the lot, went home, and swiftly created a novelization, which was published just before the film came out. It was the March 1943 Book-of-the-Month Club selection, and became a best-seller a week after its release. Saroyan won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film, The Human Comedy. Plot 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, Marcus, is off fighting the war, and Homer feels he needs to be the man of the family. To make money, he takes an evening job as a telegraph boy, meaning sometimes he has to deliver the news to a family that a son has died in the War. Yet Homer keeps up his normal life, going to school, to church, and to the movies. He is encouraged by his home environment and his loving family, including a very young brother and a mother who plays the harp. His roots and an almost instinctive sense of right and wrong keep him honest and hopeful. The novel's optimistic tone came, at least in part, from starting as a screen-treatment for MGM's Louis B. Mayer. Characters Homer Macauley – Protagonist, 14-year-old telegraph messenger living in fictional town of Ithaca, California Katie Macauley – Homer's mother, who plays the harp Bess Macauley – Homer's elder sister, who plays the piano Mary Arena – Neighbor, girlfriend of Homer's brother Marcus, friend of sister Bess Ulysses Macauley – Homer's four-year-old brother Mr. Grogan – Owner and old-time telegraph operator of Ithaca's telegraph station Mr. Spangler – Manager of telegraph station Miss Hicks – Homer's history teacher, who moralizes during Homer's detention Hubert Ackley III – Homer's rival Auggie Gottlieb – Newspaper boy and leader of a neighborhood gang of young boys Matthew Macauley – Homer's deceased father Marcus Macauley – Homer's elder brother, enrolled in the Army Mr. Ara – Town grocer Diana Steed – Mr. Spangler's girlfriend "Girl on the corner"