Catch-22
Catch-22 is a satirical account of a division of Allied fighter pilots during World War II. Joseph Heller’s complex work of fiction runs nonchronologically through the life of the bombardier Yossarian, within the fighting 256th division on the Mediterranean island of Pianosa. The book follows Yossarian and his companions’ disillusionment with the war. This disillusionment stems not directly from pacifist sentiments. Instead it is born of the of these characters’ recognition of the carnage of warfare as absurd. They are required to risk their lives on an ever-increasing number missions that kill civilians, all to feed the insatiable egotism of a few immoral individuals.
The novel is both entertaining and subtle, such that its strong anti-war sentiments require an engaged and analytical reader. The book is notable in that it illuminates the insanity of war. Consider these words from chapter 16:
“What is a country? A country is a piece of land surrounded on all sides by boundaries, usually unnatural. Englishmen are dying for England, Americans are dying for America, Germans are dying for Germany, Russians are dying for Russia. There are now fifty or sixty countries fighting in this war. Surely so many counties can't all be worth dying for.”
Furthermore, Catch-22 shows what war will do to an individual: it turns even the most rational of beings crazy. Yet within the context of war, few people question this widespread insanity and immorality, for the system of war is so utterly without reason that bizarre behavior appears rational.
Catch-22 is considered one of the greater works of literary fiction of the 20th century, making it a very appropriate book for any library audience. It also transcends borders, as it never presents the Axis soldiers as an enemy. The book’s weakness in the context of the Library Project is that the book’s protagonist does find an enemy in the bureaucrats that could get him killed. However, I interpreted the overwhelming enemy in the novel to be the twisted immorality and fickle inhumanity of the war itself. This aversion to war is something to which an individual of any nationality can relate.
2. Catch-22 highlights the first guiding principle of Beyond War, war is obsolete. Particularly after chapter 32 when the novel takes a very dark turn, we see extreme brutality that makes us cringe at its senselessness. The novel highlights the rampant violence, such as pillaging, murder, and rape, that seem to follow in the wake of war. War is drawn as an insane system that has no direction and has no purpose, that is lengthened unnecessarily to entertain power-hungry bureaucrats and make profiteers rich. This book should be included in the Library Project because it does such a fine job of illustrating the obsolete nature of war.
1. At what point does Yossarian become disillusioned with the war? What affect does this have on his world view?
2. How does Milo Minderbinder’s syndicate contrast with the system of war? How might the juxtaposition of the success of his international cartel with the actions of the wartime leaders illustrate that war is obsolete?
3. What affect does the distance between war leaders and the combat they direct have on the nature of our wars?
4. Catch-22 was published at the height of the Cold War, well after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If written today, how might nuclear weapons play a role in the book and its characters? How might an awareness of nuclear weapons change the message that war is obsolete?
The novel is both entertaining and subtle, such that its strong anti-war sentiments require an engaged and analytical reader. The book is notable in that it illuminates the insanity of war. Consider these words from chapter 16:
“What is a country? A country is a piece of land surrounded on all sides by boundaries, usually unnatural. Englishmen are dying for England, Americans are dying for America, Germans are dying for Germany, Russians are dying for Russia. There are now fifty or sixty countries fighting in this war. Surely so many counties can't all be worth dying for.”
Furthermore, Catch-22 shows what war will do to an individual: it turns even the most rational of beings crazy. Yet within the context of war, few people question this widespread insanity and immorality, for the system of war is so utterly without reason that bizarre behavior appears rational.
Catch-22 is considered one of the greater works of literary fiction of the 20th century, making it a very appropriate book for any library audience. It also transcends borders, as it never presents the Axis soldiers as an enemy. The book’s weakness in the context of the Library Project is that the book’s protagonist does find an enemy in the bureaucrats that could get him killed. However, I interpreted the overwhelming enemy in the novel to be the twisted immorality and fickle inhumanity of the war itself. This aversion to war is something to which an individual of any nationality can relate.
2. Catch-22 highlights the first guiding principle of Beyond War, war is obsolete. Particularly after chapter 32 when the novel takes a very dark turn, we see extreme brutality that makes us cringe at its senselessness. The novel highlights the rampant violence, such as pillaging, murder, and rape, that seem to follow in the wake of war. War is drawn as an insane system that has no direction and has no purpose, that is lengthened unnecessarily to entertain power-hungry bureaucrats and make profiteers rich. This book should be included in the Library Project because it does such a fine job of illustrating the obsolete nature of war.
1. At what point does Yossarian become disillusioned with the war? What affect does this have on his world view?
2. How does Milo Minderbinder’s syndicate contrast with the system of war? How might the juxtaposition of the success of his international cartel with the actions of the wartime leaders illustrate that war is obsolete?
3. What affect does the distance between war leaders and the combat they direct have on the nature of our wars?
4. Catch-22 was published at the height of the Cold War, well after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If written today, how might nuclear weapons play a role in the book and its characters? How might an awareness of nuclear weapons change the message that war is obsolete?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mora Rogers on -
Sonya --
Thank you so much for this very thoughtful and insightful review -- what a helpful contribution! It makes me want to go back and read the book again!
Best wishes,
Mora
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