Joseph Heller's Impact On Society

There are a plethora of inspirational and impactful authors of the twentieth century. Many of these authors spoke to many people from very different walks of life. Their work created hope, provided people with knowledge, and spoke their own idea of truth. Among these great authors was Joseph Heller. His work inspired and spoke to people, especially during and after the Vietnam war. Some of his works are still as inspirational today as they were way back when he first wrote them, such as Catch-22. However, one of the questions that presents itself when dealing with authors like this is: what occurred in their lifetime to make them have this much impact on a society that they weren’t even apart of? Joseph Heller is no exception to this question, like many authors of this time period his life influenced what and how he wrote. Joseph Heller had many events happen in his life that made him the author that he eventually became, the author that impacted society through the words that he inscribed on paper. Many events occurred in the life of Joseph Heller, creating the author that we know today. He published many plays, memoirs, and books, such as his most popular book Catch-22. On May 1, 1923, in Brooklyn, NY the life of this soon to be great author began (“Joseph Heller”, 2014). His father, Isaac Donald Heller, was a wholesale

He grew up during the end of the 1920s, then, for the most part, lived during a time of war, which helped him become as successful as he eventually became. The book Catch-22 was based on Heller’s experiences in World War II, even though people related more to the novel after the Vietnam War (Mitgang & Severo, 1999). He wrote about his experiences during World War II, which were futuristic in the idea of war. His work captured the right amount of insanity and dark humor to make a novel that accurately described how people felt during the