Catch 22
Catch 22, which was written by Joseph Heller in 1961, is an accurate zeitgeist novel that portrayed the feeling of the counter culture in the United States that was coinciding with events such as the Korean and Vietnamese Wars. Catch 22 takes place in Italy during World War II and the novel follows around the main character, Yossarian, who is as sane as one can be situated in an insane world. While Yossarian is in Italy, Catch 22 also manages to act as a social commentary on American life, the novel rips apart what many people held sacred during the time period that the book was written. Catch 22 contains many different characters that are used to represent different aspects of human life. The fact that the novel occurs in the military helps aid the books reoccurring theme of dehumanization. Military officials hold human lives in their hands, as a result of this the actual men enlisted in the military are striped of many basic human rights, primarily freedom of choice. Catch 22 demonstrates the ways that human beings are devalued and how the supremacy of the individual is ignored due to the decisions of uncaring authority figures, thus dehumanizing mankind. The Army controls all aspects of human life
Along with controlling peoples lives and controlling peoples deaths, the military also prevents individuals from emerging, this creates yet another way to dehumanize mankind. One of the military's fundamental goals is to create a group of people without individual characteristics; this is done to make everyone similar and to form a group of people all without identities. It is necessary for the military to have unity, if there is not unity in the military then the individual begins to overpower what benefits the country as a whole. If this happens, it is impossible to fight a war. Because of this the military does everything it can to prevent individuals in the military. When Yossarian stops cooperating with the Army, they are forced to offer him a deal to prevent him from stirring up more problems amongst the men because they know the individual will hurt them. That is the reason the military thrives on people who obey orders and blindly do what they are told, "Appleby was a fair-haired boy from Iowa who believed in God, Motherhood, and the American Way of Life, without ever thinking about any of them, and everybody who knew him liked him" (27). People such as Appleby do as they are told, whether it is to die, to fly a mission, or to serve dinner. They do not question authority and have no individual characteristics whatsoever. There could be two hundred different men named Appleby and only one named Yossarian, but Yossarian would still influence more people simply because he is an individual and does not let the Army dehumanize him. ; they own the bodies and the minds of enlisted men, treating them as nothing more then material objects. The military leaders in Catch 22 demonstrate perfectly how easy it is to take th
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1167
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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