Catch 22 Critical Analysis

In the novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, the author uses an extended metaphor to explain the paradoxical rule keeping men in the war. In the passage I chose, which extends from pages 45 to 46, Doc Daneeka explains to Yossarian how Catch-22 works. Doc Daneeka best describes Catch-22 when he states, “ Catch-22. Anyone who wants to get out of combat duty isn’t really crazy.” Catch-22 is a paradox because it is a statement containing two contradictory elements that seem false but upon further inspection are in fact true.

Captain John Yossarian is a U.S. Air Force bombardier posted at Pianosa, situated in Mediterranean Sea, during World War II. As a bombardier Yossarian is part of a crew of men whose job is to aim and release bombs. However, Yossarian is convinced that everyone is out to kill him and he just wants to survive the war, complete the number of missions required, and head back home. Yet, it seems impossible to leave because Colonel Cathcart is constantly raising the number of mission required before one can leave, thus making it impossible for the men to leave.

Catch-22 by Joseph Keller is a story set during the second half of World War II, revealing the lives of soldiers, the dilemmas of war and the paradoxes made to keep men in war by country leaders. The main character, John Yossarian is a US Air Force bombardier who has a strong desire to stay out of war, but unfortunately is unable to because of the standards set by the government, increasing the number of missions a soldier had to fly before he could leave. His squadron is stationed on the island of Pianosa, near the Mediterranean Sea. The main paradox was that if a man proved his insanity, he would have to fly his missions in order to prove his insanity, yet if he were sane, he would still stay in war and fly. Either way, all soldiers, sane or not, had to stay.

But that turns out to be a double edged sword, because it proves that he is sane! Most people in similar situations would do or say anything to avoid being in a war. Yossarian, however, seems to take every attack on the squadron as an attack against him only.

    Life is filled with situations that are very difficult to find an escape. Even once in a while, life presents a situation that is beyond difficult, and completely impossible to escape from. These situations were expanded upon and brought to obvious light in Joseph Heller's novel, Catch-22. This novel was such a masterful work that the phrase, catch-22 came to be synonymous with the situations that Heller portrays in his novel. Set in the final months of World War II, Catch-22 tells the story of a bomber squadron on the mythical island of Pinosa, just off of Italy. The story is told through the eyes of Captain John Yossarian, one of the few sane men in the novel, who sees all of the impossible

I found Catch-22 to be satirical on World War II. Seeing how the story line is based around the main character John Yossarian who wants out of the army. Heller decides to act insane hoping to be discharged and released from doing any more missions. The purpose of the satire in this novel is to make an anti-war statement, show how thoughtless some of the administrative rules of the army are, to show how people can use their power to control others and also to question the meaning of insanity.

Yossarian cannot go home because his superiors require him for their own personal gain, and it makes no difference what justification they might give for making him stay. The rest of Yossarian’s squadron has a ‘false consciousness’; they are accepting of the overbearing military system, ironically calling Yossarian, “crazy”. “They’re trying to kill me,” Yossarian told him calmly. Clevinger answered. "They're trying to kill everyone". “And what difference does that

In Joseph Heller’s ‘Catch-22’ the protagonist, Yossarian, has many goals within the military. However, he has one main goal throughout the novel to

On average 6600 airmen died per month in World war 2 in combat. In the novel Catch- 22 the setting is set around a bombardier in World War 2 whose job is as stressful as it come. When the mission came about the bombardier had to be in perfect condition, so that they can carry out the mission successfully. The conditions of work for the bombardier was one of the toughest workplaces for a human, nearly inches of clearing, tight squeezes, and the use of one of the most advanced weapons of the time. They had to carry out the missions plan, or they would have to answer to one of the disorderly officers that job is to make sure the mission goes as planned. World War 2 was a terrible and disturbing war, and the devastation of war left a lot of people in physical and mental instability after World War 2. Catch- 22 takes you through times of the author's personal experience as an American bombardier during World War 2. Catch- 22 is a representation of this because it gives details about the period and the job of a bombardier of the Second World War.

Although Catch-22 is a novel that entirely takes place at war, the book uses comedy to emphasize the physical and emotional pain of war. The novel shows us how people are changed by war and how their focuses are changed through different experiences. Many of the people in the book are disgusted by their commanding officers and the conditions around them. Joseph Heller served in the war and witnessed crazy occurrences and met strange people like those in the book. By reading the novel, we can see that he strongly disliked war. There are many themes in the novel, two of the main themes are the greed for power and money.

Ultimately, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have polar opposite reactions to seeing innocent blood, dealing with guilt, and ridding themselves of the evidence from the crime. When comparing Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to religions Macbeth is like the Catholics who feel shame and guilt. Whereas Lady Macbeth is like the Atheists who can easily brush off tough situations without a guilty conscience. In every situation regarding the murder of King Duncan Macbeth acts like most people would, feeling panicked and awful about what they have done. Despite Macbeth, Lady Macbeth acts similar to how a serial murder would, feeling little shame and remorse. To conclude, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth act very differently when exposed to tough situations like murder.

Historically, America’s involvement in war has been met with opposition. The Vietnam and Korean Wars were unpopular with many United States citizens due to the fact that the country had no personal reason for involvement, as they were not attacked. However, attacks on American soil have been known to bring rise to a large sense of nationalism. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, America came together to fight the war on terrorism. Likewise, America was drawn into World War Two after the attacks on Pearl Harbor. American literature would not dare speak ill of American involvement in World War Two. Unlike any author in his time, Joseph Heller —who opposed war himself— “voiced the anxious, absurdist, outrageous reaction of a generation

After finishing the novel, Catch-22, I can definitely say that I have learned quite a lot about how mental illnesses can affect soldiers throughout a lifetime. As I have seen through the eyes of Yossarian, painful memories, like the death of his best friend, Snowden, have resonated throughout his life. And while, Yossarian had continued to experience flashbacks, and have mental breakdowns. The disease he was experiencing (PTSD) was not yet discovered until the 1980’s. While this novel was not exactly what I was expecting, I had found it to be rather intriguing as I had learned about mental illnesses in Health class.

The river’s freezing waters looked like the best place to be at the moment. Harry’s thoughts were not of a sober man. He didn’t even remember how he came to this very spot on this very bridge. That didn’t matter anyway. What mattered is what he was so tempted to do, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t leave his mother or his sister, Gemma. That’s exactly what the blue-eyed stranger must’ve thought, except he didn’t know about his mother or his sister, yet. So the blue-eyed stranger led him away from his spot on the bridge and towards an empty cab. For what reason, Harry had no clue.

Description: Kaiser Wilhelm depicted in the centre of the cartoon, with a smoking shell billowing the image of the devil’s face. Also pictured is a conical flask on top of a piece of parchment title, “The Hague Convention”. An eagle sits on the globe on the right hand side of the image with a rattle snake labelled distinctly as the “kultur” pertaining to a German civilization and culture (sometimes used in a derogatory sense to suggest elements of racism, authoritarianism, or militarism). A soldier’s skeleton also hangs in the background accompanied by a baby nailed to the wall. Leonard Raven-Hill: Often viewed a a strong advocate of British imperialism and a strong supporter of the conservative party. Encouraged men to join the amred forces