Catch-22
In the very opening pages of the novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, we come upon a number of Air Force officers malingering in a hospital on an Italian island during World War II. One is censoring all the letters of enlisted men and forging the censor¯s name °Washington Irving± just for fun. Another is having tedious conversations with a boring Texan in order to increase his life span by making time flow slowly, when another man is storing horse chestnuts in his cheeks so that he could obtain a look of innocence. Judging from their absurd behavior, it seems clear that inordinate number of the characters appearing in this book is mad. And as we read through the novel, we find out that most of these characters, soldiers and officers fighting in the war, seem indifferent to their own survival. However, we also encounter an American bombardier named Yossarian who is differentiated from his insane fellow officers since he is solely determined to stay alive. As the novel states °That men would die was a matter of necessity; which men would die, though, was a matter of circumstance, and Yossarian was willing to be the victim of anything but circumstance±, the book focuses on Yossarain¯s tremendous efforts to avoid being victimized by circu
As I have mentioned before, most characters form the book Catch-22 are apparently crazy. They neglect the importance of their own lives under the title °for the country± whereas Yossarian struggles strenuously for sheer survival. He feels intense hatred for his own, insane countrymen who exercise an arbitrary power over his life and well-being as well as loathing this terrible wartime situation. Although the actual setting of this novel is Pianosa Island during WWII, I believe that this craziness reflects our own society of modern times as well. If we look carefully around ourselves, we could surely discover how the strong exerts arbitrary power over the innocent for its own goods, or examples of how people are being so self-indulgent. As the government and authority of many under-developed countries are notorious for bribery and corruption when there are so many who are starving on the other side, it is distinctly shown that we lie, neglect and use others as stepping stone to fulfill our own desire. This condition is seen from Colonel Cathcart since he wishes to impress his superior officers in hope of getting promoted by applying his combat squad to dangerous flight missions and increasing the number of missions accomplished. The author, Joseph Heller, is using this method of craziness and is making Pianosa
Some common words found in the essay are:
Doc Daneeka, War II, Cathcart Korn¯s, Island WWII, Joseph Heller, Colonel Cathcart, According Webster¯s, Air Force, Force Headquarters, doc daneeka, , air force, arbitrary power, joseph heller, novel catch-22, die matter,
Approximate Word count = 887
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
