The author that I chose is Joseph Heller.

Heller was Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1923. He grew up in a non religious household. He grew up writing short stories in his teenage years, but always held down a job, sometimes multiple at once. In 1942, he enlisted in the army air corps, where he flew 60 combat missions and was awarded an Air medal. After being discharged he got his bachelors degree and started doing lectures at what was once Pennsylvania state college. He published his most well known novel “catch 22” in 1961 and passed away in 1999.

Catch-22 is Hellers most well known piece of literature. it can be described as a humorous and satirical, and has quite the cult following because of its appeal to a larger audience. However, some would argue that by conventional standards, this novel is not good. But what makes it so appealing is that strange style that Heller created, making a book about the united states airforce so unique and comedic. A theme that can be clearly identified in catch 22 is the brutal, cruel, and selfish concept that war is. after consuming a small amount of his work, i found it interesting that such a small amount of literature could imprint such a distinct style in my head. i find the way that he writes very intriguing and i definitely plan on reading catch-22 in the future.

"If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.

"That's some catch, that Catch-22,"
This is an important quote because it explains one key concept in catch-22 which is, the catch in the airforce's policy, while also stating the title of the novel.

After hellers death in 1999, fellow authors had a similar response. While catch-22 wasnt praised by his peers, something that they made clear was the importance of the novel. college students found the main character inspiring, as he rebelled against a bureaucracy set out to killing him. selling more than 10 million copies to date, i think it is widely accept the importance of the novel. While heller's other works never took off as much as Catch-22 did, he's still recognized as influential by many today.

essential question: what REALLY makes a story good? Many could argue that plot is the key factor in a novel, or character development, or setting, so on and so forth. But i believe something that is often overlooked in literature is personal enjoyment. Sure, maybe the plot was impeccable, every character developed in a unique way, the setting was immersive, the theme was perfect, but that all means nothing if you didnt enjoy the book. Sure, many people including myself get enjoyment out of just the appreciation of high level stories, but thats only one piece of the whole puzzle, and catch-22's popularity is proof of that.