The Legacy of Joseph Heller: From Catch-22 to Closing Time

1. Closing Time Closing Time Presentation

2. Joseph Heller Early Life • Born May, 1 1923 • Grew up in the Jewish neighborhood of Coney Island • Submitted his first work for publishing at the age of 11 • Joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942 at the age of 19 • Served during WWII and flew over 60 bombing missions in Italy

3. Joseph HellerAfter The War • Studied English at University of Southern California and at NYU • Obtained his Master’s degree from Columbia in 1949 • Spent 1950 in Oxford studying as a Fulbright scholar • 1950-1952 taught at Penn State University • Worked briefly for Time magazine • Finally settled down as a copywriter for a small firm

4. Joseph HellerAs An Author • 1961 Catch-22 • 1974 Something Happened • 1979 Good as Gold • 1984 God Knows • 1988 Picture This • 1994 Closing Time • 2000 Portrait of an Artist, as an Old Man

5. Joseph HellerLater Life • Diagnosed with Guilliain-Barre Syndrome in 1981 • Became partly paralyzed for over a month • Over the next five years he made a substantial recovery • Met his second wife in the hospital while she was taking care of him • Continued to write and teach for the next decade • Died of a heart attack at the age of 76 in 1991

6. Other WorksCatch-22 (1961) • Heller’s most popular work • Set in the fictional airbase of Pianosa during WWII • Outlines the eclectic group of airmen stationed at the base • Was written as a satire of war and capitalism • Became wildly popular during the Vietnam War

7. Other WorksSomething Happened (1974) • Documents the life of Bob Slocum • Narrates his struggles at his workplace, with his marriage, and with his children • Meant to show the reality of the “Everyman” trying to live the American Dream • Not as commercially popular as Catch-22 but often deemed by critics as one of his best works

8. Other Works Good As Gold (1979) • Follows the choice Bruce Gold makes as to whether he should accept the post as the first ever Jewish Secretary of State • He becomes worried that it will alienate him from his family and friends • Gold is also attempting to write about the Jewish experience in America, but has an identity crisis as to whether or not he has actually lived it • More upbeat than most of Heller’s other works and is meant to satirize the modern Jew in America

9. Other Works God Knows (1984) • A tragedy/comedy focusing on fictional memoirs of King David • Outlines all of the major events in King David’s life, but retells them in a fractured and hilarious fashion • Meant to explore Heller’s own family life and the Jewish view on family in general

10. Other Works Picture This (1988) • A journey across three time period’s in history that all are connected to Rembrandt van Rijn's painting - Aristotle Contemplating a Bust of Homer. • Set in the Golden Age of Athens, The brief golden age of Holland, and present day America (presumably the golden age of the United States) • Meant to show that humanity never learns from past mistakes • Warns of America suffering the same downfall as Athens and Holland

11. Other Works Portrait of an Artist, as an Old Man (2000) • Published posthumously after Heller’s death • Discusses an elderly author’s attempt to craft his Magnum Opus • Pays homage to Heller’s own frustration of spending a career attempting to duplicate the success of his original work

12. Closing TimeSetting • Takes place in the 1990s - 50 some years after the events of Catch 22. • Yet flashbacks range anywhere from the 1920s up through the 1990s. • The majority of the novel takes place in New York and surrounding towns. • Within New York Certain locals are more prominent. • The Port Authority Bus Terminal • George C. Tilyou's Steeplechase Park • The Metropolitan Museum of Art • Coney Island • However many events occur in different locations. • Washington D.C. • Italy • Wisconsin

13. Closing TimeCharacters • Sammy Singer • A small Jewish man that is forced to confront death in the demise of his friend Lew and his wife Glenda. • Lew Rabinowitz • Sammy's street smart life long friend from Coney Island who struggles for 28 years with Hodgkin's Disease. • John Yossarian • The returning character from Catch 22 who has become a New York socialite that struggles with the vastly changing world and his own old age. • Milo Minderbinder • The greedy business man who runs a worldwide conglomerate and represents all things bad about capitalism. • Ex-PFC Wintergreen • Milo's foul-mouthed right hand man who acts as a driving force behind much of the action. • The Little Prick • The code-named President of the United States who represents the corruption and ignorance common in the nation's government. • Melissa Macintosh • Yossarian's nurse and love interest who becomes pregnant at the end of the novel. • Chaplain Tappman • Yossarian's war-time friend who develops a medical condition that lets him urinate heavy water. • George C. Tilyou • The novel's representation of the devil who resides below the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

14. Closing Time Summary • Divided into two major portions • First half deals with Lew and Sammy dealing with death • Lew with himself and Sammy with his wife • Second half deals with Yossarian planning the wedding of the century • In the process he becomes aware of what is important and abandons his death fearing ways

15. Closing TimeMajor Themes • Military/Industrial/Political Complex • Passage of Time • Lack of Morality in Society

16. Research Topic Fire Bombing of Dresden • Took place between the 13th and 15th of February in 1945 • Carried out as an Allied attempt to aid the Soviet push towards Berlin • Many cities were considered, but Dresden was viewed as a transportation hub, and the fact that it was a non-military city would cause confusion • Between 25,000 and 45,000 people died, although estimates can range into the hundreds of thousands • Allies used an incendiary bomb mixture in order to cause as much destruction as possible • Responses • The response in Allied nations was one of satisfaction with a successful attack and then disgust with the brutality that was used • In Germany, leaders tried to use the bombing as a way to justify the war crimes they had committed • Became one of the most well known events of WWII and effected both Vonnegut and Heller

17. Portfolio • Created a wikispace website http://josephhellersclosingtime.wikispaces.com/ • Created an objective test, a short answer test, and two essay prompts • Drew a scene depicting Yossarian’s journey to “Hell” • And created a dialogue between John Yossarian and Billy Pilgrim

18. Recommendation • Read It