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Closing Time

Closing Time. Closing Time Presentation. 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

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Closing Time

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  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

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