Summary Of Joseph Heller's Catch-22

The main exposition in Catch-22 is Pianosa, a small island in the mediterranean sea. This is where Yossarian and his Squadron live and where most of the story takes place. When
Heller first describes the island he says, “There was nothing funny about living like a bum in a tent in Pianosa between fat mountains behind him and a placid blue sea in front that could gulp down a person with a cramp in the twinkling of an eye and ship him back to shore three days later, all charges paid, bloated, blue and putrescent, water draining out through both cold nostrils.” (Heller 95). This quote shows that in addition to having a miserable life already, that Yossarian lives in a tent on a small crowded island where he could be gulped into the ocean at any moment. This exposition doesn't really affect the plot or conflict, but just makes the reader feel even more pity for the characters because they have no respite even at their own homes. …show more content…
Only a small part of the novel takes place here but it is important because multiple conflicts occur here. Rome is where Yossarian takes his vacations, where Nately falls in love with his whore, where Yossarian searches for Nately's whore's kid sister, where Yossarian is arrested, and the list goes on. “‘But we can court-martial you now for desertion from duty, since you went to Rome without a pass. And we could make it stick. If you think about it a minute, you'll see that you'd leave us no alternative.”’ (Heller 438). This quote shows when Yossarian is given the deal from Colonel Cathcart, one of the biggest conflicts in the story, after being caught in Rome. That goes to show that Rome is very important to the plot and causes many conflicts, including the deal that changes the whole