Capitalism&Government Catch-22

A detailed Summary of Capitalism&Government Catch-22

In his novel, Catch 22, Joseph Heller purposes the negative effects caused by the

government and capitalism of the American society during World War II. According to the

Merriam-Webster Dictionary, capitalism can be defined as an economic system characterized by

private or corporate ownership of capital goods. Heller uses this idea of capitalism to show how

it was exploited by the American government during World War II.

One basic idea of this exploitation is represented in the passage in chapter 26, where

"It's certainly is not your leg!" Nurse Cramer retorted. "That leg belongs to the

U.S. government. It's no different than a gear or a bedpan. The Army has

invested a lot of money to make you an airplane pilot, and you've no right to

This shows the idea of capitalism that has been blow out of proportion. To the government,

soldiers were just considered to be capital good, that could be basically bought and sold. In the

case of the novel, the government saw medical attention as an investment. The men were

considered to be nothing more than mere war materials as Nurse Cramer exclaims. They are

important that World War II is not remembered as a good thing. If it was, then the false history

confusion, and reenacts for the reader a feeling of what it might have been like being a American

truth to the surface. He shows the government's distortion of the idea of capitalism which helped

example if Aarfy, who views the prostitutes as possessions and objects. He has no problem killing

In conclusion, Heller uses many different techniques, from story structure to graphic

Approximate Word count = 910
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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