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Summary: Heller's Purpose Through Structure and Irony
Review: In Catch-22, Joseph Heller uses a flashback structure and irony to make reader not only see how horrible war is, but Heller utilizes comedy to first make the reader laugh then have the reader be disgusted with what they were laughing at. Heller structures Catch-22 in a jumble of flashbacks of events and repetitions. Heller may first mention something very random at the beginning of the book, and make it seem like it's some joke. However, then later on in the novel he'll actually tell the situation behind the first mention of it, and it sickens the reader to learn what truly happened. For example, Yossarian, the main character in the book, has a "dead man" in his tent. At first this just seems to strengthen the opinion that Yossarian is insane. Heller repeats this use of the "dead man" all throughout the book until finally he tells the reader who the "dead man" really is. The "dead man" is a man named Mudd. Mudd transferred into the same squadron that Yossarian was in, but immediately went on a mission after he put his stuff in Yossarian's tent. He was killed on that mission, but his paperwork hadn't actually transferred him into the squadron. Therefore he was never actually in the squadron. That means his stuff still lies on one of the beds in Yossarian's tent, and no one can take it out because it's really not there. At first the reader may find the mention of the dead man to be humorous, but when the reader finds out the truth they feel disgusted with what they were laughing at. Another structural episode that is repeated numerous times throughout the book, deals with a man named Snowden. At first he is just mentioned, and once again this adds to the thought that Yossarian is insane. Then near the end of the book Heller tells the reader what really happened with Snowden. This graphic description of Snowden's death sickens the reader and once again enforces the purpose of the author to show how horrible war is. Irony also is very prevalent and purposeful in conveying Heller's message from the book. One instance shows how corrupt the management has become. The leaders of the squadron want them to go bomb a bridge to form a roadblock, or that is at least what they tell the men. The truth is they just want to get a nice picture of a "bomb pattern". They don't care that this will kill innocent civilians, all they want is their stupid "bomb pattern". It is ironic that the commanders don't uphold that decency of not killing people just for the fun of it when they should. They really don't care even if their own men die, just as long as they get some recognition. Another irony demonstrating how war twists things, happens through the chaplain. It says "the chaplain had sinned, and it was good". This is ironic because the chaplain is supposed to uphold some sort of righteousness even in trial, and now when he sins it is good. A paradox that also portrays how war really messes people up is the fact that Yossarian thinks that everyone is "trying to kill him". At first this statement seems ironic, but the more the reader gets into the book the more truth it has. Not only does the enemy try to shoot Yossarian down, but his own commanders are trying to kill him by making him fly more missions. Colonel Cathcart, the leading colonel of the squadron, keeps raising the number of missions therefore giving more chances to everyone else to kill him. In an indirect way the colonel tries to kill him, and according to Yossarian so is everyone else. War has made him paranoid, and it destroys any sort of faith in goodness or even any kind of truth. War has completely warped everything that he is. Heller's purpose is to show how terrible and twisted war can make a person.
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Summary: How I finally read Catch 22
Review: I read this book as an assigned novel in high school, around 27 years ago. I tried and tried to get into it, but couldn't get past the first chapter. Face it, the first chapter ain't the best in the book. The first two people we meet are the Texan and the Soldier in White. The dullest people in the book--the soldier in white, by definition! One day, I had an essay due on Catch-22. I'd cribbed most of the contents from other sources, but needed a few quotes to add credibility and bulk. So I opened the book somewhere in the middle and started to read at random. I think the chapter I picked was the one about Milo. And I was hooked. I found several quotes, submitted the essay, and returned eagerly to the text to read the rest for my own satisfaction. Maybe all of you who find Heller's narrative structure disjointed should do the same. Or simply treat the whole thing like a book of essays and read them at random, saving the one in which Nately dies for last, naturally. (It's labelled "Nately", BTW) Isn't it funny? After all these years I can still remember all the characters, many of the jokes, and can certainly remember the point. Testament to a great work of art.
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Summary: Brilliant Satire
Review: The definitive post war satire should be consumed and appreciated by all literarys. Heller brilliantly manipulates his vast array of characters in hilarious situations, poignantly weaving the doomed bombadier Yossarian's tale into the catastrophic ironies of the war so often overlooked by the populace. In Yossarian, Heller created one of the great characters of modern literature, and with Catch-22 he set the standard for literature surrounding the second world war. The literary world will miss the words of Joseph Heller, which always seemed to be precise and discerning.
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Summary: Catch-22
Review: Joseph Heller, in Catch-22, uses mainly humor, horror, and irony to convey his theme that war is irrational. Most of the chapters in this book are very funny. They centre on things that are ludicrous and silly. A great number of things happen in this book that could not and would not ever happen in real life. The characters in Catch-22 though, never notice the absurdities around them, and this contributes to the humor of the book. Heller shows the characters behaving as if everything is fine to show how soldiers in the war are made to do whatever their superiors want them to. Indeed, a major theme of the book is that the individual is powerless to stand against large institutions such as the military or big business. Different characters in the book symbolize the larger forces against Yossarian, the protagonist. Yossarian is constantly being "defeated" by these institutions, despite his brave efforts to oppose them. Heller also achieves his purpose though the juxtaposition of humor and horror. He will present a ridiculous situation and invite us to laugh at it, and then immediately present a feeling of horror, such as showing us that we are no different than the characters that are behaving so oddly. This juxtaposition is consistent throughout the novel. One of Heller's chief methods of conveying his hilarity and dismay is irony. His dry, cynical, irony fills the book with funny situations and afterwards makes one think more deeply about them. Heller amplifies the absurdities of war to make them impossible to miss. Heller's constant switching back and forth shows the reader that war is definitely irrational.
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Summary: A Funny Look at War, or is it?
Review: Joseph Heller successfully utilizes detailed character developement, an extremely sarcastic tone, and a confusing placement of events, in which he jumps from scene to scene in no particular order, in order to create a humorous yet realistic image of war and the politics that surround war. Heller titles many of his chapters after a character in the novel. This proves how important the characters are; rather than center the novel around events, Heller centers his novel around the characters. Which makes perfect sense. War may involve events, but more importantly, it involves people. Most of Heller's chapters also begin with a description of the character they are titled after. The first sentence of the chapter titled "Colonel Cathart", Heller begins with "Colonel Cathart was a slick, successful, slipshod, unhappy man of thirty-six who lumbered when he walked..." Although how he walks has absolutely nothing to do with any of the major events of the novel, Heller tells us this in order to give a more personal image of Colonel Cathart. Colonel Cathart is a character in the war; he creates the events, the events do not create him. Heller not only developes his characters without leaving out any personal details, but also portrays the war and its charaters with much humor and sarcasm. It is impossible to read through this novel and not atleast smile. I even laughed out loud a few times. The tone may seem incredibly funny; however, the message is very grim. Heller is telling a story of war. The people in this war, as hilarious as they seem, are really very depressing. Every character has their own set of "issues". Yossarian, for example, loves every woman he sees. If he lives through the war (another "issue"-obsession with death), he will probably have a very hard time finding a mate. These psycological and emotional damages are the ones Heller is attempting to portray. Usually the funnier it seems, the more devastating, realistically speaking, its effects are. Heller also has a tendency to put all of his events out of order. Perhaps this is to show how the veterans of the war see things, or to show that the events really aren't as important as the people. Either way, it makes the novel somewhat hard to follow, but does make us look more to the characters and their feelings rather than the events taken place. As human beings, we like to take the easier route, and following the character developement is much easier than following the confusing plotline, or lack there of. Overall, the novel was incredibly insightful. Most "war books" are very serious, but Heller's light tone makes Catch-22 stand out. However, we must not forget the underlying message. War damages people mentally, emotionally, and physically forever, even after it's over.
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Summary: Bizarre and entertaining
Review: I am one of those rare people who somehow was never required to read CATCH 22 whilst still in the clutches of high-school English teachers. Recognizing this deficiency, I recently read CATCH 22 for the first time, and found it wonderfully comic, yet simultaneously dark and frightening in its implications. Intended as a scathing satire of war and the military, CATCH 22 is firmly rooted in the bizarre. The characters are delightful in their insanity (also evidenced by their names, i.e., Colonel Korn, Major Major Major Major), and each portrays some aspect of the horrible side of human nature (Nately's sad naivety, the gnawing self-loathing of Major Major), mostly to the total exclusion of any happier traits. With such a cast, thrown into the confusion of World War II, CATCH 22 can only be a strange tale. Personally, it reminded me of the sort of black comedy that leaves you feeling dazed afterwards (for movie lovers, think NIGHT SHIFT), reeling from the confusion and horror of it all. It elicits strong emotions -- frustration and anger not the least of them -- which I suspect was the author's real intention. I often wonder why books touted as "classic" or "great" must be so bizarre. CATCH 22 is not necessarily easy to read, and it seems that only adds to the praise it receives. Perhaps CATCH 22's ability to make the reader a part of the confused, rambling story is based firmly in this bizarreness. Personal hint: read this book twice. You'll catch much, much more the second time through.
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Summary: this is a classic?
Review: in the past, people have told me that this a great book. i ask, what were they smoking? this book is exceptionally tedious and redundant. there are portions of the book that are humorous but they are too few and far between to keep one's interest. the whole story could be told in 100 pages but the author does not believe in having mercy on the reader. my advice, buy this book (if you are an insomniac).
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Summary: Is this book really about war?
Review: Most people claim this book is a "war novel". However, like Apocalypse Now, war is merely the setting. This book is about life. More importantly, the "absurdity of life" as someone has said. After reading this book, I began to see through the "smoke and mirrors" of society. An excellent piece of literature. You'll be better off for having read it.
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Summary: Great characters make a great book
Review: "You mean there's a catch?" Yossarian asked. "Sure there's a catch," Doc Daneeka replied. "Catch-22. Anyone who wants to get out of combat duty isn't really crazy." I thought that Catch 22 was an excellent and hilarious book. But, I don't think it is for everybody. Some people might not get the type of humor Joseph Heller uses throughout the book. And to others, the lack of a plot might make reading the entire book very demanding. But for me the constant humor and exceptionally well created characters made the book well worth the read. Catch 22 is a satire that reflects on the absurdity of war. It is about a bomber squadron in Italy during the end of WWII. The book's main character, Yossarian, is frantic and furious because people he hasn't even met keep trying to kill him. The best part of the book would defiantly have to be the characters. Joseph Heller did an excellent job creating so many unique and interesting people. That was definitely what kept me reading. There were so many great characters I'm sure everyone could find someone in the book to relate to. So if you don't mind a book that can be a bit slow at times and is absolutely hilarious Catch 22 is a great choice.
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Summary: A good book.
Review: Catch-22 is a book that has a whole different spin on life than most others. It takes place during World War II and is primarily about John Yossarian, a bombardier in the war. Yossarian is an interesting character who looks at life very rationally, yet different from most people. He cares for his life like most people would. He doesn't care for authority unless they can hurt him. He is moral and immoral, smart and immature. With no central theme or story line it is hard to give an accurate plot summary. It does give an outlook on war and life that is not seen very often, with a humorous twist that will keep you laughing only if you are in the mood for it. The characters in this book are very stereotypical yet very unique at the same time. There are some you will love and many you will hate. One reoccurring theme in this novel is the title, Catch-22. There are so many catches and hypocritical events in this book that it is sometimes hard to keep everything straight. For example, Yossarian asked this girl to marry him. She said that she would not marry him because he was crazy, but she thought he was crazy because he wanted to marry her. This is just one of many catches in the book. The entire book seems to revolve around catches, which makes it hard to read at times. The best part of this book is how it gives a humorous outlook on a very serious subject, war. There were very few times I wasn't chuckling at this book. Everyone in this book seems to have lost his or her minds. One of my favorite parts is when some of the soldiers are driving back from a bar and one of the passengers in the back suggests that the driver turn off his headlights. This is obviously a stupid idea. As they are talking the officer in the front passenger seat demands to know why it is so dark and the driver responds, "I turned them off. You know, Chief White Halfoat is right. It's much better with the headlights off." This is a great example of how no one in the book seems to be completely in reality and the cause of this seems to be the war. Over all I really liked this book. It was almost always funny. It took a while to get into it because it is very different from any book I've ever read. I loved the characters, Yossarian and Dunbar especially, although they were all very good. I would recommend this book who wants to read something new and different and get a good laugh.
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