Nicholas Halford
Jiles
AP Lit
10 January 2016
Moral and Ethical Implementations in Catch 22 Catch 22 is a novel driven by the impediments of Yossarian’s surrounding society, and the conflicts he faces due to his own disparity with his society. The novel is based during WWII on the fictional island of Pianosa, where Yossarian is enlisted as a bombardier. Yossarian faces both moral and ethical disagreements with the other men on Pianosa. Robert Brustein states in his analysis, “Yossarian’s expedient is not very flattering to our national ideals, being defeatist, selfish, cowardly, and unheroic. On the other hand, it is one of those sublime expressions of anarchic individualism without which all national ideals are pretty hollow” (The Logic …show more content…
Many of the moral and unmoral decisions made in Catch-22 create tension between characters, and hinder them from accomplishing any goals. Yossarian faces troubles in society with the logical understanding of life and death in the face of danger, the catch, and relying on his internal values of others’ lives over his own. One major factor furthering Yossarian’s quest for home is the fallible logic displayed by the surrounding characters. Like Robert Brustein stated, “Catch-22 is based on an unconventional but utterly convincing internal logic” (The Logic of Survival in a Lunatic World), meaning the logic many of the characters use, is unorthodox, but reasonable to those using it in the story. There are several examples of this unconventional logic; one of the biggest examples is when Doc Daneeka was thought to be dead. The Doc was signed to be on one of the flights that crashed but was not aboard. Although Doc was alive and well, and in front of everyone, he is presumed dead only because he was signed up to fly on …show more content…
Early in the novel, Yossarian does his best to get grounded, meaning he would be sent home. As the doctor explains, “Sure there’s a catch… Catch-22. Anyone who wants to get out of combat duty isn’t really crazy” (Heller 46). Due to this catch, Yossarian is refused in his request to be grounded. The Catch explains that when faced with true danger, the mind will either recognize it as a threat or will not, and because Yossarian realizes flying combat missions is dangerous, he cannot be defined as crazy. By trapping Yossarian into the catch, Heller shows an important conflict between man and society. While society is caught up in patriotism and bravery, Yossarian uses his logic to determine the danger he faces. Having not volunteered for the position he is in, he struggles constantly to find a way out. His morals conflict with his superiors morals perpetrating the problems of Pianosa’s internal
Jiles
AP Lit
10 January 2016
Moral and Ethical Implementations in Catch 22 Catch 22 is a novel driven by the impediments of Yossarian’s surrounding society, and the conflicts he faces due to his own disparity with his society. The novel is based during WWII on the fictional island of Pianosa, where Yossarian is enlisted as a bombardier. Yossarian faces both moral and ethical disagreements with the other men on Pianosa. Robert Brustein states in his analysis, “Yossarian’s expedient is not very flattering to our national ideals, being defeatist, selfish, cowardly, and unheroic. On the other hand, it is one of those sublime expressions of anarchic individualism without which all national ideals are pretty hollow” (The Logic …show more content…
Many of the moral and unmoral decisions made in Catch-22 create tension between characters, and hinder them from accomplishing any goals. Yossarian faces troubles in society with the logical understanding of life and death in the face of danger, the catch, and relying on his internal values of others’ lives over his own. One major factor furthering Yossarian’s quest for home is the fallible logic displayed by the surrounding characters. Like Robert Brustein stated, “Catch-22 is based on an unconventional but utterly convincing internal logic” (The Logic of Survival in a Lunatic World), meaning the logic many of the characters use, is unorthodox, but reasonable to those using it in the story. There are several examples of this unconventional logic; one of the biggest examples is when Doc Daneeka was thought to be dead. The Doc was signed to be on one of the flights that crashed but was not aboard. Although Doc was alive and well, and in front of everyone, he is presumed dead only because he was signed up to fly on …show more content…
Early in the novel, Yossarian does his best to get grounded, meaning he would be sent home. As the doctor explains, “Sure there’s a catch… Catch-22. Anyone who wants to get out of combat duty isn’t really crazy” (Heller 46). Due to this catch, Yossarian is refused in his request to be grounded. The Catch explains that when faced with true danger, the mind will either recognize it as a threat or will not, and because Yossarian realizes flying combat missions is dangerous, he cannot be defined as crazy. By trapping Yossarian into the catch, Heller shows an important conflict between man and society. While society is caught up in patriotism and bravery, Yossarian uses his logic to determine the danger he faces. Having not volunteered for the position he is in, he struggles constantly to find a way out. His morals conflict with his superiors morals perpetrating the problems of Pianosa’s internal