How are the characters Kitty, Joe, and Tom interpreted through Saroyan’s passage and how is the passage reflected on the play?
Paper details:

The Time of Your Life by William Saroyan
In the time of your life, live—so that in that good time there shall be no ugliness or death for yourself or for any life your life touches. Seek goodness everywhere, and when it is found, bring it out of its hiding-place and let it be free and unashamed. Place in matter and in flesh the least of the values, for these are the things that hold death and must pass away. Discover in all things that which shines and is beyond corruption. Encourage virtue in whatever heart it may have been driven into secrecy and sorrow by the shame and terror of the world. Ignore the obvious, for it is unworthy of the clear eye and the kindly heart. Be the inferior of no man, nor of any man be the superior. Remember that every man is a variation of yourself. No man’s guilt is not yours, nor is any man’s innocence a thing apart. Despise evil and ungodliness, but not men of ungodliness or evil. These, understand. Have no shame in being kindly and gentle, but if the time comes in the time of your life to kill, kill and have no regret. In the time of your life, live—so that in that wondrous time you shall not add to the misery and sorrow of the world, but shall smile to the infinite delight and mystery of it.

Many people have found this passage moving, and some have suggested that it embodies the playwright’s philosophy. Still others find it to be an appropriate prologue to the 5 act play (advertised as 3 acts!) that follows.
Prompt: How do you think this passage reflects on the play? Use and analyze at least three characters to argue your interpretation. If you wish, draw heavily from your group presentation analysis.
Guidelines: As you did with your first literary analysis, create a strong, precise argumentative thesis that forecasts the analysis to follow. Support your ideas fully by showing rather than telling your reader what you mean, how you arrive at your conclusions, and what significance you derive, etc. Organize your paragraphs effectively so that you can create connections between them and present a logical interpretation that flows smoothly. Quote and cite the text correctly using the documentation guidelines in WAL and MLA. For this essay, please do include a correct Work Cited section.
Length: 4-5 pages (1000-1250 words)
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