The Jewishness In Joseph Heller's Fiction

Joseph Heller is the representative novelist of American black humor.Although he had never emphasized his Jewish identity in his work and interview,but also he had never talked about breaking away from the Jewish tradition and identity.As a Jew,Heller's works have a distinct Jewishness.This thesis is based on the previous studies,combined with writer's Jewish identity and religion under the background of the American culture,and then analyzing Heller's representative works to interpret its Jewishness.The Jewishness is mainly embodied in the following three aspects:Firstly,Heller outlined many doomsday scenarios just like "ruins of the world" in the works,and he also selected the marginalized characters for the protagonist.By criticizing the life surrounded by all kinds of "trap" and "out of order",mocking the world towards the final act of the world,and showing the common people's unique feeling alienated from the world,we can see people living deviating from the normal state and feel the sense of alienation from the world.Therefore,his works broke the narrowness of the Jewish people,and increased the survival of these edge character confusion for universal human destiny.Secondly,Heller's works have a anti-traditional tendency,this idea comes from the opposition and conflict between Jewish people and the Lord god.People are punished by god although they believe in god and act in accordance with the will of god.Heller put it into the contradiction between the father and the son,which is subsidiary to the parent's oppression and the fear of the father.Heller also describes the people's depressive living conditions constrained by the authority of the father,to show the unreasonable factors in the traditional culture.Last but not least,Heller calls on human to get rid of the traditional culture and to pursue the survival right.Thirdly,Heller's works have the very strong sense of responsibility.Whether Yossarian in Pianosa Island,or Slocum in modern American society,or old David,they all felt or ever felt disaster coming.This terrified feeling prompted them to think of the meaning of life.In “God Knows”,Heller pointed out the God doesn'tknow any thing in fact which is a great iron in the title.Especially in “Closing Time,Heller wrote,the world is about to enter an end,humans have nothing to depend on.But on the other hand,what Heller wanted to express is human should comprehend and grasp the true meaning of life even in difficult life,rather than go into recession,through the survival of human pain,should not fail to slump.Heller calls for human to assume responsibility for their own life,to try their best to seek the meaning of life and have the courage to save their own lives,rather than wait for rescue and "promise".