Literary Criticism In Joseph Heller's Catch-22

Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 is a satirical war novel, which takes place during World War II. Heller published his novel in 1961, but began writing it in 1953. The novel follows a World War II bombardier by the name of Yossarian. Several literary scholars have written criticism on Heller’s novel. Some critics analyzed Heller’s life and how it influences the novel itself, while others analyze the meaning of the novel. Heller uses his personal experiences from World War II and incorporates them through the protagonist Yossarian. Joseph Heller was involved in World War II himself. He was a bombardier and flew several missions. Stephen Potts states that “At twenty-one years of age, Lieutenant Joseph Heller was enjoying World War II. As a bombardier stationed in Corsica”. Potts starts his book by giving a brief historical context of Joseph Heller. One event Potts discusses is that “on his [Heller’s] thirty-seventh mission, a bombing run over Avignon in southern France… Heller experienced a deathly chill”. Potts explains a mission where Heller was in a near-death experience. He also includes that after that experience, flying missions were not as “fun” anymore. What Potts fails to include is that this experience and others …show more content…
David Seed in his book, The Fiction of Joseph Heller comments about the character’s characteristics and says, “These characteristics identify an inherit administration which is more typical of postwar America than the situation of 1944”. Seed makes a remark that the characteristics of the characters are more resembling to modern America than during the war. Seed explains several important aspects of the novel and analyzes its context for the time period it was published. Although Seed’s remarks about the novel, he does not include much information about background information about Heller nor about his experiences in the