After being assured that no matter what his original nationality, Tobey is still an American, Tobey says: "If Bess doesn't like me -- if she falls in love with somebody else -- if she's married when we get there -- I'm going to live in Ithaca, anyway. I don't know, but Ithaca seems to be my home now, too. For the first time in my life I feel I belong somewhere. I hope you won't mind. I feel like my family is the Macauley family, because that's the kind of family I would have if I could chose. (161-162)
Home, and America, is about feeling at home, not about one's national origin, place of birth, or even if one is genetically tied to a family. The longing of the soldiers for home and love, and the anxiety of how things are changing when they are away shows the...
The great thing about America is that a person can choose his home, regardless of where he was born. Yet paradoxically, the soldiers must leave home and fight for freedom. Fighting for the values that make his homeland great, Marcus loses his life abroad.
However, because of the power of family, the Macauleys are able to stay strong and make a new home, because home is forever being recreated. After her husband died, Katey had to create a new home for herself and her children. Even after the death of her eldest son, she and the rest of the family is aware that life must begin anew, and they must choose to move on.
Works Cited
Saroyan. William. The Human Comedy. New York: Laurel Reissue, 1966.
