Dispute has always surrounded the justification for wars, especially the debate of whether soldiers’ lives are being lost for necessary causes. Unlike other war novels, Joseph Heller criticizes the cruel bureaucracy within the military, influenced by his own military experiences. In Heller’s satirical novel, Catch-22, he defines the infuriating, contradictory processes the military uses to run its soldiers’ lives and control their fates through his use of satirical dark humor, literary techniques, structure and various themes.
Satire is woven throughout the novel to expose the faults of American institutions within the military, such as religion and war. Religion is depicted through the chaplain, who gradually loses his faith as the novel …show more content…
Introduced in the beginning of the novel in a conversation between Doc Daneeka and Yossarian, Catch-22 itself is a paradox. It “shows how a claim of insanity could relieve a soldier from active duty were it not for the fact that avoiding more dangerous missions actually proved the soldier's sanity” (Hoberman). By wanting to go home and avoid the war, it is sane. In that case, if Yossarian wants to stop flying missions, he is sane and fit to fly, and therefore must fly more missions. Only if Yossarian did want to fly these treacherous missions would he be insane, and not be allowed to fly. This paradox is not logical which follows the theme of insanity and unreasonableness in the novel. Yossarian is the only person frustrated by these events and the contrast between his behavior and the other characters’ creates humor. The parody of Catch-22 through the use of paradoxical statements and situations conveys the incredulity of Heller’s …show more content…
sanity is an obvious theme, especially with the excessive amount the word “crazy” is used throughout the book. Yossarian believes that the army, the hospital, and the world are all full of insane people. He believes the war itself is madness because of the amount of men laying their lives down for only a vague idea of what they are fighting for. Heller implies it is “impossible to exist as a sane person in an insane environment.” (Themes and Construction). Yossarian, being surrounded by insanity, eventually becomes insane himself as he wanders blindly through the streets of Rome at the end of Catch-22. His deterioration of morality and logic is caused by the absurdity of the situations and people around him. Finally, it is evident that Orr, the crab stuffing maniac, is the most sane character. His disguise of madness was able to obtain his ticket to freedom. Another theme displayed in Catch-22 is individual vs. society. The individual in this instance is Yossarian who “represents the individual against a huge, corrupt institution of any sort, whether it is the army or a large corporation.” (Themes and Construction). He is the only character who is willing to speak out against the cruel bureaucracy that throws away the lives of soldiers. The bureaucracy symbolizes the society in which Yossarian lives in. He represents the viewpoint of an individual whose only objective is to survive. He sees anyone and anything that attempts to kill him as the enemy. In an
Satire is woven throughout the novel to expose the faults of American institutions within the military, such as religion and war. Religion is depicted through the chaplain, who gradually loses his faith as the novel …show more content…
Introduced in the beginning of the novel in a conversation between Doc Daneeka and Yossarian, Catch-22 itself is a paradox. It “shows how a claim of insanity could relieve a soldier from active duty were it not for the fact that avoiding more dangerous missions actually proved the soldier's sanity” (Hoberman). By wanting to go home and avoid the war, it is sane. In that case, if Yossarian wants to stop flying missions, he is sane and fit to fly, and therefore must fly more missions. Only if Yossarian did want to fly these treacherous missions would he be insane, and not be allowed to fly. This paradox is not logical which follows the theme of insanity and unreasonableness in the novel. Yossarian is the only person frustrated by these events and the contrast between his behavior and the other characters’ creates humor. The parody of Catch-22 through the use of paradoxical statements and situations conveys the incredulity of Heller’s …show more content…
sanity is an obvious theme, especially with the excessive amount the word “crazy” is used throughout the book. Yossarian believes that the army, the hospital, and the world are all full of insane people. He believes the war itself is madness because of the amount of men laying their lives down for only a vague idea of what they are fighting for. Heller implies it is “impossible to exist as a sane person in an insane environment.” (Themes and Construction). Yossarian, being surrounded by insanity, eventually becomes insane himself as he wanders blindly through the streets of Rome at the end of Catch-22. His deterioration of morality and logic is caused by the absurdity of the situations and people around him. Finally, it is evident that Orr, the crab stuffing maniac, is the most sane character. His disguise of madness was able to obtain his ticket to freedom. Another theme displayed in Catch-22 is individual vs. society. The individual in this instance is Yossarian who “represents the individual against a huge, corrupt institution of any sort, whether it is the army or a large corporation.” (Themes and Construction). He is the only character who is willing to speak out against the cruel bureaucracy that throws away the lives of soldiers. The bureaucracy symbolizes the society in which Yossarian lives in. He represents the viewpoint of an individual whose only objective is to survive. He sees anyone and anything that attempts to kill him as the enemy. In an