Set in San Francisco during the Great Depression, this story by William Saroyan describes the final day of a young aspiring writer dying of starvation. His creative inspiration comes from dreams, and the story begins with a stream-of-consciousness list of places, people and scenes he has dreamed about but never encountered. Weak with hunger, he spends the day desperately looking for work. Unsuccessful, he tries to write An Application for Permission to Live. Too weak to complete it, he returns home and surrenders himself to a final dream. Themes include poverty, artistic struggle, pride, alienation, despair, existentialism, sleep and dreams.
The title refers to a popular 1800s song and alludes to the risky choices aspiring artists face to survive. A trapezist launches him or herself into the secure hands of a partner. In his final dream, too weak to complete his document, the young writer launches himself into eternity.
It is interesting to contemplate just what his “Application for Permission to Live” is. Some websites suggest that it is a metaphorical name for the equivalent of a CV to help in job applications. In my opinion, this is unlikely. Too proud to seek help from homeless shelters or soup kitchens, he had already accepted that he is going to die. I like to think he planned to compose a form of ode recording his aspirations and tragic circumstances so that, after his death, his words would live on and the world would know he existed.
The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze Text / PDF (2,300 words)