Writing Resources
On May 1 1923 Joseph Heller was born on Coney Island to Isaac and Lena Heller two Jewish immigrants from Russia Daugherty Born into a family living in a small apartment Heller went on to write numerous books including his most notable novel Catch 22 His experiences shaped his own style of writing and influence those of future satirical writers Heller s dark and wise humor was shaped by his own life and was one of the defining factors in his form of satire Heller lived on the upper floor in a small building on West Thirty first Street with his parents his half brother Lee and his half sister Sylvia Daugherty However his life drastically changed as his father died from surgery to treat a stomach ulcer when Heller was just five years old Nichols After Isaac Heller s death the Heller family began to struggle with poverty as Lena did not speak English well and Lee only 14 years old became a surrogate father of the family Nichols Lee's self contradiction after a long day s work intrigued Joseph and become an early introduction to his own satirical nature Daugherty In 1930 Heller entered first grade and was a bundle of anxiety Daugherty that constantly checked his own physical features From a young age Heller s writing and imagination were praised by teachers and only continued to improve as he aged In 1942 Heller graduated as an honors student from Abraham Lincoln High School and take a job at an insurance firm Nichols However he soon left his job to enlist in the Army Air Forces in 1942 Daugherty Two years after enlisting Heller was sent to Corsica where he flew sixty bombing missions as a second lieutenant between May and October 1944 After flying sixty missions Heller left Corsica for Naples on January 3 1945 and was then shipped back to the States on January 28 Daugherty
