ANDREW DEFRATIES
LIT 3103: GREAT LITERATURE OF THE WORLD
TERM PAPER ASSIGNMENT
APRIL 21, 2015
An Epic is defined as a large-scale story, often containing overly formal tone that defines the beliefs, the value-system, or a culture. If that definition is held constant, then the novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller both could and should be deemed a modern epic. Support for this claim will consist of an analysis of Heller’s deviations and reproductions of epic conventions. Such analysis will include: themes, techniques, character types, and narrative structure.
Catch-22’s most notable epic element is the structure of the narrative, which some deem to be nonexistent. The surprisingly repetitious, seemingly superfluous, and sometimes structure-less syntax is a reflection of the insanity of the absolute power residing in …show more content…
Moreover, the structure amplifies the disparaging pangs, and tormenting post-traumatic stress that materializes in the wake of war. These materializations take the form of post-traumatic flashbacks in an eerily similar fashion to Ulysses’ flashbacks from the Odyssey. These post-traumatic flashbacks are compulsively scattered throughout the epic’s chronology to provide a piece-by-piece understanding of the hero’s psychological puzzle.
What is Change? Webster’s dictionary definition which states, “to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone.” However, there’s one part of that definition causes contention, its degree of consistency. For it is the inherent nature of change to be inconsistent, with the predictability of that nature to be constant. Thus, change in its fundamental form is a paradox. Joseph Heller is not a stranger to these types of paradoxical constructs with Catch-22 as his most prominent creations. A Catch-22 is defined as a dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or
LIT 3103: GREAT LITERATURE OF THE WORLD
TERM PAPER ASSIGNMENT
APRIL 21, 2015
An Epic is defined as a large-scale story, often containing overly formal tone that defines the beliefs, the value-system, or a culture. If that definition is held constant, then the novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller both could and should be deemed a modern epic. Support for this claim will consist of an analysis of Heller’s deviations and reproductions of epic conventions. Such analysis will include: themes, techniques, character types, and narrative structure.
Catch-22’s most notable epic element is the structure of the narrative, which some deem to be nonexistent. The surprisingly repetitious, seemingly superfluous, and sometimes structure-less syntax is a reflection of the insanity of the absolute power residing in …show more content…
Moreover, the structure amplifies the disparaging pangs, and tormenting post-traumatic stress that materializes in the wake of war. These materializations take the form of post-traumatic flashbacks in an eerily similar fashion to Ulysses’ flashbacks from the Odyssey. These post-traumatic flashbacks are compulsively scattered throughout the epic’s chronology to provide a piece-by-piece understanding of the hero’s psychological puzzle.
What is Change? Webster’s dictionary definition which states, “to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone.” However, there’s one part of that definition causes contention, its degree of consistency. For it is the inherent nature of change to be inconsistent, with the predictability of that nature to be constant. Thus, change in its fundamental form is a paradox. Joseph Heller is not a stranger to these types of paradoxical constructs with Catch-22 as his most prominent creations. A Catch-22 is defined as a dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or