Both Heller and Eliot, in Catch 22 and The Wasteland, respectively, use the modern structure of fragmentation to emphasize the disillusionment and despair that come as a result of a war. In The Wasteland, Eliot begins with the imagery of a barren land, laying a foundation for his poem about nothingness after World War I. Throughout “The Burial of the Dead”, he references the hyacinth girl, a reference to the woman who held the Holy Grail that could restore the lands. However, he notes, “I could not speak, and my eyes failed… and I knew nothing”, showing that he failed to ask the question and that therefore he has failed in receiving the Grail. Similarly to after the war, everything lay barren and no one knew how to fix it. The use of “I” and
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He begins with Yossarian in the hospital, faking a liver condition. This, like in The Wasteland becomes the foundation for the entire story – Yossarian, so afraid of being killed, has placed himself in the hospital with an “incurable disease”, thereby removing himself from active duty and bypassing the Catch 22. In the Catch 22, a soldier must ask to be grounded. By doing so, they have shown that they are sane because they do not want to die. However, the rule states that only crazy soldiers can be grounded; since crazy soldiers would not ask and sane soldiers cannot be grounded, no soldiers are grounded. The theme of insanity vs. sanity relates to the despair and disillusionment in Eliot’s poem - the despair caused by the war drives many of the soldiers to insanity. Also similarly to Eliot’s The Wasteland, relationships lack an emotional connection. Throughout the book, the soldiers sleep with countless prostitutes, similar to the purely physical marriage mentioned by Eliot. This is due to the emotional instability caused by war, especially from a soldier’s perspective where they must bomb innocents. Catch 22 continues to follow a similar narrative structure because the remaining stories in the novel also stem from the initial scene. Each snippet also appears like a thought, sometimes including only parts of the story. For example, Yossarian often notes “and Snowden lay dying in the back”. However, it is not until chapter 41 that he explains the full story. This narrative structure creates a very personal story and creates a sense of déjà vu, where we feel as if we have already heard the story. Both Heller and Eliot use the modernistic structure of fragmentation to create a more personal story (almost like listening to someone’s thoughts) and thereby truly emphasizing the impact of
He begins with Yossarian in the hospital, faking a liver condition. This, like in The Wasteland becomes the foundation for the entire story – Yossarian, so afraid of being killed, has placed himself in the hospital with an “incurable disease”, thereby removing himself from active duty and bypassing the Catch 22. In the Catch 22, a soldier must ask to be grounded. By doing so, they have shown that they are sane because they do not want to die. However, the rule states that only crazy soldiers can be grounded; since crazy soldiers would not ask and sane soldiers cannot be grounded, no soldiers are grounded. The theme of insanity vs. sanity relates to the despair and disillusionment in Eliot’s poem - the despair caused by the war drives many of the soldiers to insanity. Also similarly to Eliot’s The Wasteland, relationships lack an emotional connection. Throughout the book, the soldiers sleep with countless prostitutes, similar to the purely physical marriage mentioned by Eliot. This is due to the emotional instability caused by war, especially from a soldier’s perspective where they must bomb innocents. Catch 22 continues to follow a similar narrative structure because the remaining stories in the novel also stem from the initial scene. Each snippet also appears like a thought, sometimes including only parts of the story. For example, Yossarian often notes “and Snowden lay dying in the back”. However, it is not until chapter 41 that he explains the full story. This narrative structure creates a very personal story and creates a sense of déjà vu, where we feel as if we have already heard the story. Both Heller and Eliot use the modernistic structure of fragmentation to create a more personal story (almost like listening to someone’s thoughts) and thereby truly emphasizing the impact of