William Saroyan Criticism
William Saroyan (1908-1981) was an influential Armenian-American playwright, short story writer, and novelist whose works poignantly captured the immigrant experience in America. Born in Fresno, California, to Armenian immigrant parents, Saroyan's writing was deeply informed by his cultural heritage, a topic he explored in various interviews and discussions, such as the Candid Conversation with Garig Basmadjian. Despite early hardships, including family separation and economic challenges, Saroyan emerged as a literary maverick, achieving critical acclaim with works like The Time of Your Life and My Heart's in the Highlands, earning accolades such as the Pulitzer Prize.
Saroyan's narrative style, characterized by a natural, easygoing approach, has often been both criticized for its sentimentality and praised for its accessibility. His exploration of themes such as loneliness and self-sufficiency revealed existential undertones, as noted by Margaret Bedrosian. His work frequently traversed the intersection of ethnicity and mainstream culture, a theme analyzed by Walter Shear in collections like My Name Is Aram.
Despite his commercial success during the 1930s and 1940s, Saroyan's career post-World War II faced personal and professional challenges. His reluctance to adapt his style to evolving literary tastes led to a decline in popularity, as noted by critics like Richard R. Lingeman. Yet his contributions to ethnic literature, as discussed by David Stephen Calonne, highlight his lasting impact on American literature.
Saroyan's focus on familial warmth and cultural identity, particularly in the Armenian context, was a hallmark of his work. He often portrayed the tension between spiritual and material worlds, a theme Winifred L. Dusenbury identifies in The Time of Your Life. His later years witnessed a return to stage productions, reflecting enduring optimism alongside immigrant identity struggles.
While some perceived his post-war works as overly sentimental and simplistic, critics like Saroyan on the Flying Trapeze and Saroyan High Jinks note his early promise. Others, including Thelma J. Shinn, argue his style encompasses deeper existential themes. His work, such as "Chance Meetings," continues to be appreciated for its charm and poignance, as discussed by Nicholas J. Loprete.
Contents
- Principal Works
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Saroyan, William (Vol. 10)
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William Saroyan: Romantic Existentialist
(summary)
In the following essay, Thelma J. Shinn argues that William Saroyan's plays, often dismissed as sentimental Romanticism, are better understood as complex symbolic dramas that explore existential themes and human dignity, revealing an inherent struggle against societal and personal contradictions while seeking beauty within the individual.
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A Master and a Master's Master
(summary)
In the following essay, Edward Hoagland argues that William Saroyan's unique literary contribution is his focus on joy and optimism, contrasting with the prevalent themes of despair and absurdity in modern literature, while also emphasizing his innovative approach to ethnic representation.
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Joe as Christ-type in Saroyan's 'The Time of Your Life'
(summary)
In the following essay, Kenneth W. Rhoads argues that William Saroyan's character Joe in The Time of Your Life functions as a Christ-figure, encapsulating themes of redemption, innocence, and spiritual transcendence, through his actions, symbolic allusions, and interactions with other characters, ultimately enhancing the play's emotional and ideological depth.
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Friendly People
(summary)
In the following essay, Joel Oppenheimer argues that William Saroyan's work, particularly in "Chance Meetings," is distinguished by his ability to perceive and convey the completeness of brief encounters, despite criticisms of sentimentality, emphasizing Saroyan’s lasting impact through his unique narrative voice and storytelling prowess.
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Gnomic Naive
(summary)
In the following essay, D. Keith Mano critiques William Saroyan's memoir "Chance Meetings," arguing that Saroyan's "Ethnic Naïve" style is overrated, self-indulgent, and ultimately devolves into an "Ethnic Absurd," lacking structured storytelling and relying on sentimental, uncoordinated anecdotes that fail to engage critically.
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Nicholas J. Loprete
(summary)
In the following essay, Nicholas J. Loprete discusses how William Saroyan's Chance Meetings combines artful storytelling with charm and sentimentality, highlighting Saroyan's unique perspective and philosophy on memory and the human condition, while acknowledging the book's potential pitfalls that are deftly avoided through the author's warmth and irreverence.
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William Saroyan: Romantic Existentialist
(summary)
- Saroyan, William (Vol. 1)
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Saroyan, William (Vol. 29)
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Conflict between the Spiritual and the Material
(summary)
In the following essay, Winifred L. Dusenbury examines William Saroyan's play The Time of Your Life, highlighting its portrayal of loneliness and the quest for belonging among a diverse group of characters, and underscoring the thematic conflict between spirituality and materialism as characters evolve towards a unified human family.
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A Variety of Curtain Calls
(summary)
In the following essay, Richard R. Lingeman examines William Saroyan's book "Obituaries," highlighting Saroyan's unconventional approach to exploring death through a stream-of-consciousness style that reflects on names from a necrology list, aiming to affirm life and defy death through continuous movement and introspection.
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William Saroyan and the Family Matter
(summary)
In the following essay, Margaret Bedrosian examines William Saroyan's exploration of ethnic identity and familial disconnection, highlighting the tension between his Armenian heritage and personal experiences, which manifest in his works as struggles with existential isolation and the pursuit of belonging amidst cultural and familial expectations.
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From Early to Posthumous
(summary)
In the following essay, Joel Oppenheimer argues that William Saroyan's mastery of the short story is evident in his ability to craft flowing narratives that maintain their tone and perspective, as seen in "My Name Is Saroyan," while also noting that "Births" reflects a philosophical abstraction contrasting with the clarity of Saroyan's earlier works.
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Conflict between the Spiritual and the Material
(summary)
- Saroyan, William (Vol. 8)
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Saroyan, William (Short Story Criticism)
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Saroyan on the Flying Trapeze
(summary)
In the following review of The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze, and Other Stories, he declares Saroyan 'an extraordinary talent' and lauds his promise as a writer.
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Saroyan High Jinks
(summary)
In the following review of The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze, and Other Stories, he acknowledges Saroyan's talent but maintains that he has yet to prove himself as a writer.
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71 Varieties
(summary)
Fadiman became one of the most prominent American literary critics during the 1930s with his insightful and often caustic book reviews for the Nation and the New Yorker magazines. In the following excerpt from a review of Inhale and Exhale, he expresses a preference for Saroyan's description of characters and incidents over pondering on a grand scale: "I must confess that when Saroyan is being most himself and telling us all about the World and Life and Time and Death, I don't understand him."
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Mr. Saroyan Continues to Write Very Much as He Pleases
(summary)
During his years with the publishing firm Alfred A. Knopf Strauss edited works by Kobo Abe, Junichiro Tanizaki, Yukio Mishima, and Yasunari Kawabata, thereby playing an important role in the introduction of modern Japanese literature to American readers. In the following review of Inhale and Exhale, he judges Saroyan "the most prolific and uneven of writers."
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The Art of Mr. Saroyan
(summary)
In the following enthusiastic review of Little Children, he commends Saroyan's evocation of childhood and notes that the book is appealing despite its shortcomings.
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That Daring Young Man, Mr. Saroyan
(summary)
In the following essay, McCole provides a highly critical assessment of Saroyan's originality as a writer.
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William Saroyan
(summary)
In the following excerpt, he contends that the strengths and weakness of Saroyan's short fiction are directly related to his personality and outlook on life.
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It Reads Like Fiction
(summary)
In the following excerpt from a review of Peace, It's Wonderful, Ferguson comments on the fragmentary quality of the stories and on the progress Saroyan has made as a writer since publishing his earliest fiction.
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The Boys in the Back Room: William Saroyan
(summary)
In the following essay, Wilson perceives a decline in the quality of Saroyan's fiction after The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze, and Other Stories, stating that Saroyan seems in danger of becoming a columnist who depends entirely on a popular personality and lacks depth in his writing.
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Armenian Picaresque
(summary)
In the following review of My Name Is Aram, Canby hails the artistry of Saroyan's accounts of a young Armenian boy in America who experiences are strongly colored by his heritage.
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The Lonesome Young Man on the Flying Trapeze
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Burgum perceives that Saroyan's depiction of disillusioned, alienated Americans has evolved.
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William Saroyan: A Portrait
(summary)
In the following essay, Remenyi offers a portrait of Saroyan, emphasizing the influence his character and predilections had on his writing.
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Mr. Saroyan—Still His Own Hero
(summary)
In the following review, Norton finds the stories in Dear Baby trite.
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Saroyan with Trumpet & Tremolo
(summary)
In the following review of The Assyrian, and Other Stories, he states that the title story is respectable, though the remaining pieces are such that "even [Saroyan's] most ardent admirers are likely to be quite unhappy."
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Saroyan Parade
(summary)
In the following review, Peden judges the stories of Love highly uneven in quality. Love consists of some thirty short stories and narrative sketches originally issued in magazines ranging from Story and the Yale Review to the Pasadena Junior College Magazine. This collection again illustrates the fact that Saroyan still tends to be his own worst literary enemy. The best of these stories are very good, but others are quite the opposite.
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William Saroyan and the Family Matter
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Bedrosian examines the sense of waning community felt by ethnic individuals in Saroyan's fiction.
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I Want to Live While I Am Alive
(summary)
Calonne assesses Saroyan's short story collections published in the second half of the 1930s, determining that these works reflect an affirmation of life in an inhospitable, divisive modern world.
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More Letters from Bill
(summary)
Archer is an American author known for his histories and biographies intended for a young adult audience. In these studies, he avoids glossing over unpleasant aspects of history and presents famous figures realistically, depicting not only their strengths but also their failings and weaknesses. In the following excerpt, Archer recounts correspondences in which Saroyan discussed writing and his career.
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Saroyan on the Flying Trapeze
(summary)
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Saroyan, William (Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism)
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Candid Conversation
(summary)
In the following interview, Saroyan and Basmadjian explore Saroyan's reflections on his instantaneous literary success, the influence of his Armenian heritage, his approach to writing with emotional complexity, and his views on criticism and identity, emphasizing the interplay between cultural identity and artistic expression.
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William Saroyan and the Family Matter
(summary)
In the following essay, Bedrosian examines three of Saroyan's early works, contending that the sense of self-sufficiency Saroyan portrays in his fiction is permeated with a sense of isolation and loneliness due to the personal circumstances of his own life.
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Saroyan's Study of Ethnicity
(summary)
In the following essay, Shear reflects on Saroyan's portrayal of the relationship between ethnicity and mainstream culture through an analysis of his short story collection My Name Is Aram.
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William Saroyan
(summary)
In the following essay, Haslam provides a brief overview of Saroyan's works, focusing particularly on his contribution to the advancement of ethnic literature in the United States.
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Warsaw Visitor and Tales from the Vienna Streets: The Last Two Plays of William Saroyan
(summary)
In the following essay, Kouymjian characterizes Saroyan's last two plays as his final theatrical statements, noting that although there are differences among them, the two works share a special kinship due to their link with Saroyan's experiences in the last year of his life.
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William Saroyan and Multiculturalism
(summary)
In the following essay, Calonne remarks on the centrality of ethnicity and diversity issues in Saroyan's work. William Saroyan was “multicultural” long before it became the fashion: questions of “ethnic” identity are central to his lifework and his writings are directly relevant to the current fierce debate on university and college campuses concerning what shall be defined as “American culture.” His Armenian heritage sensitized him from childhood to the situation of “minorities” (or what used to be called “foreigners”), to racism and injustice, and characters representing virtually every race are depicted throughout his stories, plays, novels, and memoirs. Armenia's historic role as an intermediary zone between Orient and Occident, its ability to assimilate other cultures yet retain its own unique character, gave Saroyan a perfect vantage point from which to create his own New World. He envisioned an America where racial/ethnic differences were not a barrier to human community, but rather were powerful sources of meanings and values which might contribute towards the making of a new, broader, richer, energetic spiritual and cultural life.
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William Saroyan and the Armenian Genocide
(summary)
In the following essay, Calonne discusses Saroyan's response to the Armenian genocide in his work, characterizing it as a complex relationship that affected his writing but did not negate his essentially positive outlook towards humanity.
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William Saroyan and San Francisco: Emergence of a Genius (Self-Proclaimed)
(summary)
In the following essay, Haslam offers an account of Saroyan's rise to fame in the 1930s and 1940s, highlighting the significance of California and the Fresno area as important settings in and literary influences on his fiction.
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The Broadway Years
(summary)
In the following essay, Balakian describes Saroyan's years in Broadway, focusing on critical reception of his works, Saroyan's reaction to his critics, and brief overviews of his most successful productions.
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War of the Wests: Saroyan's Dramatic Landscape
(summary)
In the following essay, Radavich proposes that Saroyan's plays are reflective of the conflicts inherent in the inspiration for his dramatic landscape—the American West—and that they echo this tension by presenting characters that navigate between the romance and ideals and the unforgiving nature of reality and cultural conflict in the West.
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Candid Conversation
(summary)
- Further Reading