Catch-22 and the character of Yossarian both resemble something about Heller, he was also an Air Force bombardier during World War II. Heller himself flew 60 missions when he was in the Air Force, he uses this book to tell us about his time in the Air Force and the kinds of people he met while he was there. This gives his book more creditability because he actually knew what it was like to fight on the front lines and what goes through the minds of men in the military.
We can assume that he begins to tell us stories of the men he met while in the military and of the things he experienced while in the Air Force. It can be inferred that the character of John Yossarian can be Heller talking about himself, as Yossarian is really the only character we see throughout the whole book and the words Heller used to describe the situations and the people around him is very personal and vivid as of he lived it himself, maybe he did. The men that Heller talks about are men of all different backgrounds and states of mind, rather than give a superficial view of these characters he gives us some back story to these characters as if he knew them personally and he wants us to get to know them personally. He wants us to see these characters as real people rather than as words on a page.
Rather than give us some made up story, Heller gives a real story of war and it is really like to experience war up close and personal. His characters are made-up but because of his background we can assume that these stories are actually real war stories and are about real people. Heller wanted to give us a completely real and authentic depiction of what it is like to fight in war and what war does to men and how especially because they are drafted how many men don’t want to be there and how many are trying to get home.
We All Bleed Red 