War is raging in Europe. A colonel hungry for promotion keeps raising the number of missions required before one can go home. A mess officer obsessed with money steals necessary supplies and even conspires with the enemy just to make a quick buck. Friends all around are dropping dead. No sane person can survive in this environment, and Joseph Heller masterfully captures the struggles of escaping it. In his novel Catch-22, author Joseph Heller was inspired by his military and literary experiences, contemporary events, and his philosophy on war, sanity, and corruption.
To understand his works, it is necessary to understand Joseph Heller’s background. Joseph Heller was born in Brooklyn on May 1, 1923 (“Joseph,” Encyclopedia Britannica). His parents …show more content…
In the novel, Colonel Cathcart says of the name Yossarian, “It was an odious, alien, distasteful name, a name that just did not inspire confidence. It was not at all like such clean, crisp, honest, American names as Cathcart, Peckem, and Dreedle” (Heller 210). This notion that something such as a name could be American or “Un-American” is likely a nod to HUAC. Joseph Heller was influenced very clearly by McCarthyism and the Cold War while writing …show more content…
For example, when speaking with Yossarian about finding a way out of the war, Doc Daneeka informs him of one small issue:
There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr [Yossarian’s roommate] was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn’t have to; but if he didn’t want to he was sane and had to. (Heller 46)
Through this illogical, unwinnable scenario, Heller conveys what he perceives to be a cruel society in which people do not have choices and freedom. Several writers have put much emphasis on Heller’s style: “Circular language and redefining words, Heller shows, allows people to avoid the reality of situations, or to twist reality to suit their purposes” (“Catch-22”). Later in the story, the meaning of Catch-22 changes: “Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can’t stop them from doing” (Heller 407). In its journey as a vehicle of oppression, Catch-22 metamorphosizes from a single illogical scenario to something far more
To understand his works, it is necessary to understand Joseph Heller’s background. Joseph Heller was born in Brooklyn on May 1, 1923 (“Joseph,” Encyclopedia Britannica). His parents …show more content…
In the novel, Colonel Cathcart says of the name Yossarian, “It was an odious, alien, distasteful name, a name that just did not inspire confidence. It was not at all like such clean, crisp, honest, American names as Cathcart, Peckem, and Dreedle” (Heller 210). This notion that something such as a name could be American or “Un-American” is likely a nod to HUAC. Joseph Heller was influenced very clearly by McCarthyism and the Cold War while writing …show more content…
For example, when speaking with Yossarian about finding a way out of the war, Doc Daneeka informs him of one small issue:
There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr [Yossarian’s roommate] was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn’t have to; but if he didn’t want to he was sane and had to. (Heller 46)
Through this illogical, unwinnable scenario, Heller conveys what he perceives to be a cruel society in which people do not have choices and freedom. Several writers have put much emphasis on Heller’s style: “Circular language and redefining words, Heller shows, allows people to avoid the reality of situations, or to twist reality to suit their purposes” (“Catch-22”). Later in the story, the meaning of Catch-22 changes: “Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can’t stop them from doing” (Heller 407). In its journey as a vehicle of oppression, Catch-22 metamorphosizes from a single illogical scenario to something far more