The Statue of Liberty front shot, on Liberty Islan...
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William Saroyan, American writer.The one main theme that has been represented in all of Saroyan's work is an on-going belief in mankind, although it may sound vague, a moral person is often the hero of his tales, and the so-called villain, circumstance. Although as a theme, it seems hardly original, the method in which the hero overcomes his or her hardship is what gives his work charm. The character often grows or has grown into accepting a new way of looking at life, rather than having acquired his or her dreams. The main character's thinking usually includes two simple ideas that the character takes to heart. Saroyan mentions both these ideas in "The Time of Your Life" epigraph, "seek goodness everywhere" (Saroyan 15) and "be inferior of no man, nor of any man be superior" (Saroyan 15). With these as their guidelines to life, the main characters are often an admirable person we might have otherwise overlooked ourselves, if we were not introduced to through Saroyan. The reason these types of characters came across so often, was that the ability to truly believe in these concepts was one that Saroyan wished to acquire in his own life and pass on to others. As Saroyan wrote in "A Word to Scoffers",
"Believe. Believe what? Why everything, he said. Everything you can think of, left, right, north, east, south, west, upstairs, downstairs and all around, inside, out, visible, invisible, good and bad, neither and both. That's the secret. Took me fifty years to find out." (Saroyan "My Name is Aram" 150)
"The Time of Your Life" along with "The Human Comedy" as well as his other works, were vehicles for him to convey his message of peace, tolerance and joy in the form of themes to...