Реферат: Joseph Heller Essay Research Paper Joseph HellerBoth

Because ?Closing Time? is a sequel to ?Catch 22?, many of the main characters are present in both novels. However, the focus of the story has changed radically. Instead of focusing on the turmoil and craziness expected in war, this story, taking place in New York, focuses more on the social atrocities, and moral decay taking place within our own cities. The book is filled with dark images, poor, homeless people, and is contrasted with the riches of the multi-national corporations and the government.

Heller likes to aim his satire on the Government. In this book he introduces both the president and vice-president of the United States. He makes them out to be bumbling idiots who have no respect for their office or their country and who no one else has any respect for. In fact, they both have so little respect for their country that they have a big games room in the White House which has video games and toy trains. The president gets so involved in this room that when Milo, now a multi-billionaire, gives a wedding for his son, a wedding so big and so grand that the guest list contains 3500 names and has 6 bands set up on 6 different stages, the president forgets all about the wedding and keeps on playing his games in his games room.

The Vice-president is no better then the President in terms of maturity. When one of the characters, Noodles Cook, went into his office to be interviewed for an advisory job, he encountered an absolute fool, who for some reason turned the whole interview around and became the interviewee. Noodles Cook unaware, became the interviewer, as if he was interviewing the vice-president to see if he was good enough to work for. During the interview, the vice-president actually asked Noodles to stop being so formal and just to call him ?prick?!!

??…And please don?t call me sir, Noodles. You?re so much older than I am. Won?t you call me prick??

?No, sir, I won?t call you prick?

?Everyone else does. You have a right to. I have taken an oath to support that constitutional right.?

?Listen you prick-??

As you can see, Noodles is rather an ordinary man, who was being driven mad by the vice-president, as any normal, clear think man would be. This is just another example of Heller making his point that most authoritative figures are stupid and incompetent.

An even more unbelievable scene happens at the end of the novel, where the president, busy playing one of his video games, comes upon a red button. Happily occupied by his game, he was dumbfounded by this new toy, and eagerly pressed it, setting off alarms, and flashing lights:

??It works,? said the president, with a grin. ?You see? Just like the game here.?…

?You launched all our missiles!?

?You sent out our planes!?

?I did? Where??

?Everywhere! With that red button you kept pressing.??

As unbelievable as it sounds, it was true; the President had launched America?s nuclear missiles and bombers. By accident. With no clue what he was doing. Heller, right to the end of the novel, just keeps unveiling outrageous plot-twists. He drives this particular point home, about the incompetently of our government, extremely powerfully.

In fact, by using this satirical, comedic style of writing, Heller manages to drive home all of his points very well. He uses three of the biggest social areas to show his distaste for authoritative figures; War, Capitalist and Government. And he makes his points in such a fascinating way that it makes both books very, very interesting.