Catch-22, by Joseph Heller

To Yossarian he was “living” the dream, because he could fake pains and need to stay in the hospital for days at a time until he “felt better” which kept him out of flying missions. While this was “everything he wanted”, we later learn that Colonel Cathcart (complete ignorant sun of a gun) keeps raising the missions the soldiers have to fly until they are allowed to be grounded and this actually hurts Yossarian’s plan of staying here until the war is over. Although the hospital seemed to be his paradise, no one liked him there but let him stay even though some knew he was lying about the pains in his liver, bringing up one of the several reasons his squadron was very contradictory and messed

The catch 22 rule is that you never really win, because of the changing rules and powers enforced by bureaucracy. It seems as if catch 22 forces soldiers into an active line of duty: the rules always contradict each other. This creates such absurd ideas that only the mentally insane could accept; and only a few would have enough courage to fight against it. Yossarian finally had enough courage to refuse to fly and go A.W.O.L. This action proved that Yossarian could and in fact, did exercise his freedom.

In Catch-22, Joseph Heller uses paradoxes, selfishness, self-destruction, and miscommunication to satirize and provoke changes in war and the military establishment through a pilot, Yossarian, whose only goal has become to escape the traps created by bureaucracy before it kills him.

Decisions for War, 1914-1917 by Richard Hamilton and Holger Herwig investigates the origins of the First World War detailing individual country’s reasons for entering the war. Historians at War by Anthony Adamthwaite explores how scholars have understood the origins of the Second World War throughout varying times and differing national view points. Both works share a common theme of determinism; a retrospective notion placed on historical events by historians that Europe was inescapably predestined to go to war and that nothing nor anyone could inhibit that. Both remark that this popular approach does a disservice into the explanation of war as it does not accurately depict the economic and social agency present in Europe at the time. In

"Battleground America," written by Jill Lepore, provides a strong history of guns and the way they have changed in the eyes of the American through the years. She proves her point with strong evidence throughout her article, sprinkling it with opinion and argument that is strongly supported. She presents her argument to convince her audience that the open availability of guns allows citizens to undeservingly purchase them by displaying the credibility in her sources, using negative connotations in her speech, and the strength and objectivity only a strong logos appeal can provide.

C.S. Lewis one said “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny”. Facing hardships and breaking free from their normal world allows the hero inside of people to come out. Many stories document this journey of a hero through the Hero’s Journey Archetype. In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, a man named Rainsford stumbles upon an island where humans are hunted by a crazed man. The hero’s journey archetype is implemented throughout Rainsford’s experiences in the story. Richard Connell used the Hero’s Journey Archetype to structure the plot and develop the theme that with clever thinking and the use of past experiences, one can succeed at anything.

Heller employs disturbingly descriptive language when in comes to the parts of the novel depicting death and decay. When Kid Sampson dies, Heller does a really good job capturing the horror felt by those on the beach as well as the grotesqueness of the whole incident . “There was the briefest, softest tsst! filtering audibly through the shattering overwhelming howl of the plane's engines, and then there were just Kid Sampson's two pale, skinny legs, still joined by strings somehow at the bloody truncated hips, sanding stock-still on the raft for what seemed a full minute or two before they toppled over backward into the water finally with a faint, echoing splash and turned completely upside down so that only the grotesque toes and the plaster-white soles of Kid Sampson's feet remained in view.“(30.34). I feel that this moment represent a shift in the novel where

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman is a classic work of military science fiction depicting a war between the human race and an unfamiliar alien entity known as the Taurans. The overall plot line follows a fairly typical path, but Haldeman’s real genius is realized through the interactions that take place between the protagonist, William Mandella, and the Earth he returns to between military operations. Developing beneath the ever-present war of the two species lies a much subtler conflict between generations of human thought and culture. Brought about by the way troops are transported in space, time dilation creates an interesting dichotomy between the early soldiers of the war and the rapid evolution of human society and culture remaining on Earth. The Forever War questions the stability of human nature by creating a scenario where its fluidity is exposed through an invariable link to time. The expression of human nature changes as cultural and personal identities adapt to new situations; viewing these changes through Mandella, we begin to see how different expressions of human nature can impact human nature itself.

In Catch-22, the culture surrounding World War II is totally different from the culture we face in wartime today. Yossarian was faced with overcoming a “Catch-22”, and all of the harsh military tactics surrounding it. The military leaders do not care about the livelihood of their own troops. Colonel Cathcart increases the number of missions that Yossarian has to fly just so he can become promoted to general.

Throughout my readings and research, I have been able to discover more about how literature and history intertwine and influence each other. Joseph Heller, author of Catch-22, uses his novel to teach others about the atrocities of war and their influences on society. Through his own life experiences and his theme of imbalance of power, Heller is able to encourage readers, like myself, to think a certain way about wars and discover more about his novel. Historical events influenced Joseph Heller in many ways when writing Catch-22. Similar to Yossarian, Joseph Heller was a bombardier in World War II.

Imagine seeing more and more comrades dying while flying combat missions, being caught up in the middle of a corrupt business takeover, not being able to get discharged from combat due to paradoxical logic, and constantly having to evade a comrade’s rage induced whore who’s out to murder. These are common scenes found in the controversial book of “Catch-22”. “Catch-22” is a mid-war dramatic novel written by Joseph Heller. Published in 1961, the story is set in the middle of World War II and revolves around Captain John Yossarian and his fellow soldiers, commanders, and a priest. The story revolves heavily around Yossarian’s constant attempts to get out of the war.

    What do people give up on during the pursuit of equality? Throughout American history, people have gave up numerous things to strive for just a little bit more equality. Some things they were striving to become more equal were; gender, race, sexual orientation, jobs, opportunity, and education equality. Will there ever be true equality in the United States, or anywhere in the world? If so, what would they have to give up to ensure that there is true equality everywhere they go. Kurt Vonnegut Jr., the author of “Harrison Bergeron,” called to attention what it would be like in a world that had true equality and questioned if we should really strive for this in our society.  “Harrison Bergeron,” written during the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s explores a society that is truly equal, made possible through a number of handicaps and limitations. Vonnegut grabs your imagination and insights a society in your mind, like no other in this world. He shows that this society is a dystopia, and the level of true equality we would ultimately need, is unreal. Vonnegut judges the principle of total equality on a level that shows us we would have to sacrifice, all the qualities that make youself. To live in a dystopian world, and how it a poses a danger to society and our perception of it.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be seen from different perspectives, one of them being from the Likud party in the Israeli government. In particular, there are stances that Likud takes on the conflict. Right now, Benjamin Netanyahu is the Israeli Prime Minister, and his current approach to dealing with the conflict differs from the approach taken in 2009. The Likud party is considered hardliner and right-winged, meaning that it is harder to compromise with this political party due to their strict stances and beliefs. Therefore, their diplomatic approach towards the conflict is less compromising in comparison to the Zionist Union.

Catch 22 strongly reminded me of the book Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. What ties the two together is not that they both take place in World War II, but that neither author capitalized on that point. They were merely books about war and the destructive nature of it, as well as the strain it puts on everyone with connections to it. The two main characters are not so alike. Billy Pilgram, the protagonist in Vonnegut’s novel, is more of a quiet and passive man who doesn’t seem to want much in life but to exist. Yossarian is also strange, but because he is loud and disruptive about things nobody wants to think about. Their differences is what makes them so alike – neither Pilgram nor Yossarian are conventional war heroes, or anyone in their respective books for that matter. Characters in either book suffer from stress and fear and even madness. The only ones who are ‘eager for war’ and ‘patriotic’ are obnoxious and disliked, such as Roland Weary in Slaughterhouse Five or Colonel Cathcart in Catch 22. The two characters are also similar in their view of death. Billy Pilgram saw all of his life, and ‘knew’ that he would, eventually, die. He even knew the situation that would cause his death. In Catch 22, Yossarian knows he will die, be it from war or natural causes on the outside.

Survival is a thing everyone has and does. You in fact are surviving rightnow and your doing it by using your head and your smarts. This is not much different in The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell. Rainsford has to do what we do and survive except it's just harder for him because he is being hunted by a crazed serial killer. The short story “The Most Dangerous Game’ by Richard Connell suggests that no matter what situation your in you need to outwit your opponent.