Joseph Heller Influences

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Joseph Heller’s literary views of World War through his fictional character Yossarian and his own personal experience left an impact on how many people viewed the war, most significantly after reading his most famous work; Catch-22.
Joseph was born to Russian-Jewish Immigrants on May 1st 1923 and lived a quiet life in Brooklyn New York, with his half-sister and half-brother whose mother had died. His family struggled financially and since they were immigrants they did not speak english well. Joseph's father died after a failed operation in 1929 as Joseph began formal public schooling in Coney Island. Many believe after this Heller got his dark humor developed and placed into some of his work. Heller had little literary influence in his childhood except with the books “ The Iliad by Homer otherwise known as The Odyssey”-(Advameg,Inc) …show more content…
Two years later after training he went to an “island in the Mediterranean called Corsica, there he flew sixty combat missions and was even awarded an Air Medal and a Presidential Unit Citation”-(Advameg Inc.). After he left the military Heller met his wife, Shirley Held and used a GI bill given to all veterans after the war to begin his college education. While in the Army, Joseph had no problem with his line of work but he experienced something on his 37th run that made him change. The rear gunner had been KIA and this made Joseph realize how close death was and this is central to his fictional characters thinking in his book Catch-22. His personal encounters would continue to influence his satire, humor and diction within his
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