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This paper makes a tentative study of the artistic beauty of Catch-22, which mainly includes the theme, black humor, characterization and language features. The aim of this paper is to make readers have a better understanding of this marvelous book.
II. General Introduction to Joseph Heller
Before demonstrating the artistic charm of the marvelous Catch-22, a general introduction of the writer is necessary; this can make readers have a better understanding of this great book. Catch-22 is a book that is produced from Joseph Heller’ real life experience so that better acquaintance with Joseph Heller can help comprehend the book. Information on Joseph Heller will be elaborated in three aspects as follows.
2.1 Joseph Heller’s Life
Joseph Heller, who is one of the representative writers of black humor, was born in Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York on May 1, 1923. He was born in a poor Jewish family from Russia. In the year of 1999 he died of heart attack at the age of 76 years old at his home in East Hampton, on Long Island, New York.
Heller lived a hard life since he was born and his life got even harder after his father died when he was 5 years old. Joseph Heller was born into a Jewish family but his family immigrated to USA in 1913 because of racial discrimination in Russia. Nevertheless, Heller got great talent in language and he was good at making acerbic irony from childhood. At 10, Heller was determined to become a writer. In 1941, Heller joined the air force when he was graduated from Lincoln High School. And after two years during World WarⅡ, he flew 60 combat missions as a B-25 bombardier in the war area of South Africa and Italy, which gave him the spirit and writing material to write Catch-22. Yossarian, the main character in Catch-22, is very similar to Joseph Heller himself in many aspects. After the war, Heller studied English at the University of Southern California and he received his MA Degree in English from Columbia University in 1949. It was just from that period that Joseph Heller started to write short stories. Reality is always the basement of literature. Joseph Heller’s ever life experience influenced his writing career to a large extent. He became a professional writer after Catch-22 was published since the book was published as with the appearance of anti-war momentum in American. Joseph Heller suffered many illnesses in his old time because of his hard life in the army, and he died of heart attack in 1999. Joseph Heller also created some theater plays, movie scripts, short stories and comments.
2.2 Joseph Heller’s Works
Joseph Heller created six long novels, two short novels, three theater arts, two film scripts and two autobiographies in his whole life. He started his writing career as a author of short stories but won immediate acclaim with Catch-22. Catch-22 was written in the year of 1961 and it did not get epidemic until the anti-war momentum at that time in American. The book is a remarkable success because it is regarded as founder of art of black humor and it was shoot into a film in 1970.
Heller’s second novel Something Happened is an expose of the capacity of the material world to crush the inpidual, and a pessimistic statement about the influence of prosperity on the human condition. We Bombed in New Heaven, a play produced on Broadway in 1967, is a tragicomedy similar to Catch-22 in theme and mood. Good as Gold in 1979 involves a humorous portrayal of Jewish family life and a satire of national politics, including attacks on real people such as Henry Kissinger. God knows in 1984 is a humorous retelling and analysis of the biblical account of King David. Heller’s later works are novels such as Picture This and Closing Time. No Laughing Matter in 1986 is a chronicle of Heller’s recovery from the syndrome, which contains alternating chapters by Heller and his good friend Speed Vogel. The book reveals the assistance and companionship Heller received during this period from a number of his prominent friends –Mel Brooks, Dustin Hoffman and George Mandel among them. Heller also created two film scripts. They are Sex and the Single Girl in 1964 and Dirty Dingus Magee in 1970. Two autobiographies are between works of Joseph Heller’s. They are No Laughing Matter in 1986 and Now and Then in 1998.