Theme Of Insanity In Joseph Heller's Catch-22

“There was only one catch and that was Catch-22,” writes Heller, squatting low at the edge of the dimly lit ring, ready to tackle his target at the slightest indication of vulnerability. Dancing nimbly through the murky clouds of confusion obscuring war, Heller strikes out at insanity, grappling adroitly with his slippery objective before taking him down to the sweat-soaked mat. In a maneuver of grotesque dexterity, Joseph Heller, author of Catch-22, articulates the public’s growing concern toward foreign entanglement in the era subsequent to World War Two, facing off not only against the inoperable chaos that is war, but also against the unruly opponent of insanity. Populating Heller’s Catch-22 is an array of miscellaneous characters representing a diverse and laughably comical smattering of backgrounds and mentalities. By throwing these unique identities into the melting pot of military requisition, Heller brews a potent antiwar concoction piping with animosity and bitter with fear. From Yossarian, a pilot whose only objective is staying alive, to his commanding officer, whose main goal is to push his men past the brink of sanity, the military base is populated with a memorable, sad, and hilarious assortment characters who all embody minute aspects of Heller’s antiwar crusade. As the story progresses, each page …show more content…
Although this style of exposition may seem ineffective, Heller effectively emulates the foreign and confusing nature of being dropped into a war zone after only a few weeks of training. The writing in Catch-22 changes syntactically from description to description, hinging on the topic or subject of discussion, producing a dynamic text that captures one’s attention and holds it. Additionally, the pages of Heller’s book ripple with irony and paradox, progressing logarithmically until the ripple has become a frothy tidal wave of