Quote

Where were you born? On a battlefield, [Yossarian] answered. No, no. In what state were you born? In a state of innocence.

Joseph Heller

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Joseph Heller
Age: 76 †
Born: 1923
Born: May 1
Died: 1999
Died: December 10
Autobiographer
Journalist
Novelist
Playwright
Prosaist
Screenwriter
Writer
New York City
New York
States
Battlefield
Battlefields
Answered
Innocence
State
Born

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The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on.
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Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them. With Major Major it had been all three. Even among men lacking all distinction he inevitably stood out as a man lacking more distinction than all the rest, and people who met him were always impressed by how unimpressive he was.
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I wouldn't want to live without strong misgivings.
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I don't understand the process of imagination-though I know that I am very much at its mercy.
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Just for once I'd like to see all these things sort of straightened out, with each person getting exactly what he deserves. It might give me some confidence in this universe.
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Prostitution gives her an opportunity to meet people. It provides fresh air and wholesome exercise, and it keeps her out of trouble.
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The enemy, retorted Yossarian with weighted precision, is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on, and that includes Colonel Cathcart. And don't you forget that, because the longer you remember it, the longer you might live.
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In short, Clevinger was one of those people with lots of intelligence and no brains, and everyone knew it except those who soon found it out.
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He knew everything about literature except how to enjoy it.
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And anything worth dying for
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They couldn't keep Death out, but while she was in she had to act like a lady.
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When I grow up I want to be a little boy.
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In the long run, failure was the only thing that worked predictably. All else was accidental.
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You're an intelligent person of great moral character who has taken a very courageous stand. I'm an intelligent person with no moral character at all, so I'm in an ideal position to appreciate it.
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Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.
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