Satire In Catch 22

In the following essay we will discuss to what extent do the novels of Kurt Vonnegut serve as a mirror to American history and politics in the seconf half of the twentieth century in relation to two of his texts. This essay plans on discussing the above topic with reference to the novel Harrison Bergeron (1961) and Slaughterhouse Five (1969). Before we begin discussing the topic of tKurt Vonneguts novels mirroring American history and politics in the second half og the twentieth century, we must first divided the topic question into sub sections so we as readers can truly understand the topic at hand. We will first discuss Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Harrison Bergeron, firstly we will discuss the plot overview so the reader will understand the following

Flannery O’Conner argued that “[Distortion] is the only way to make people see”. This famous statement is initially contradictory and incongruous, but in Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 it is easy to see the truth of this paradox. The pages of Catch-22 are lined with distortion and each instance provides for a new kind of clarity. Catch-22 is simply a war story illustrated by ridiculous behavior and illogical arguments and told in a flatly satirical tone. Though the book never states outright that matters are funny, the reader is always aware of how outrageously bizarre the characters and situations are. Heller uses out of sequence narration, a confused distinction between appearance and reality, and the irrationally

The comedy that Catch-22 brings is ironic in itself, think how can you get humor out of war which entails pain and suffering, that beats me how Heller does it but by whatever means used Heller creates a complete package of humor and real life occurrences which is a great fete in itself. "Though it's comic formula riddle, Heller's novel expresses the apparently inescapable human predicament." (Colmer 213)

Context: It is an imaginative fantasy, in which the exact date and time are not clearly established, as is common with science fiction. The novel's plot reflects the cold war atmosphere of the early 1960s. Vonnegut uses irony, satire, and mockery throughout the course of the novel to prove his points and to capture the audience’s attention.

Dispute has always surrounded the justification for wars, especially the debate of whether soldiers’ lives are being lost for necessary causes. Unlike other war novels, Joseph Heller criticizes the cruel bureaucracy within the military, influenced by his own experiences as a bombardier in World War II. In Heller’s satirical novel, Catch-22, he defines the infuriating, contradictory processes the military uses to run its soldiers’ lives and control their fates through his use of satirical dark humor, literary techniques, structure and various themes.

Defying convention, Joseph Heller in Catch-22 dehumanizes the soldier and introduces the reader to the decay of a grim world structured by bureaucracies. With the amalgamation of incoherent chronology and scattered symbols throughout the novel, he presents his ideas in an absurd manner. His sullen irony mirrors that of society. Rendering mankind’s abilities moot, Heller dismantles language and its significance. The very substance of his work - the mindless symbols, dark satire, and deconstruction of language - defies the established methods of writing. Through a novel approach in representing war, Heller eclipses the standard war novel and by doing so depicts the absurdity of military bureaucracy.

For example, the most ironic part of Catch-22 is the catch-22 itself. A catch-22 is defined as a dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions. You can see an easy example from just reading the description of the book. “A man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes a formal request to be removed from duty, he is proven sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved.” What this is pretty much saying is someone who wants to be discharged is sane and has to go on more missions but someone who goes on these missions is considered insane. because people do not want to go to war The number of flight missions to be flown before a soldier can be dismissed is raised. The reason for this is because Colonel Cathcart wants to be promoted to a General. Just as Yossarian, the protagonist, gets closer to the number of required number of missions, the number is raised. Slaughterhouse-Five actually goes farther than just using the non-chronological structure by also writing in short chapters. The chapters are comprised of short paragraphs that are divided into unrelated sections. “Vonnegut uses this unique structure because the way events are told to the reader is similar to how undifferentiated schizophrenics think and communicate ideas which

“ In order to be grounded you must be crazy, but if you ask to be grounded, you must not be crazy anymore, so you have to continue flying”(Heller 40). This is the justification of what a catch-22 is. Insane behavior and the fight for freedom are both acts, which transpire in Catch 22. Yossarian, a squadron captain is in World War II flying a plane and fighting for his country. Though trying to get out, he knows there is only one way, and that would only get him “away” from all of the terror. This brings the reader to the theme of the play, escape. “Insanity is the only sane way to deal with an insane situation”(Heller 78). Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 explains an insight of which a paradox providing no way out of conflict is overcome and in

Kurt Vonnegut’s immaculate approach to satire takes readers on an unforgettable journey through his cynical mentality of the topics too sacred for other authors to defame. Disguised by humor, Vonnegut exposes the malignant properties of humanity, religion, science and family interactions that frequently go unnoticed, or unmentioned due too often to their uncomfortable nature. Dissecting the character Felix Hoenikker eloquently shows Vonnegut’s mastery at subtly magnifying issues within our society. The Nobel-prize winner has the mental capacity to invent the most destructive weapon ever created, but has the mindset of an adolescent playing games. The innocence of Felix Hoenikker contradicts his achievements to scientific community (by some thought of as “evil”) of the atomic bomb and ice-nine, or isotopes capable of solidifying water, which has apocalyptic consequences in the novel. Despite having intelligence, Hoenikker was careless with the implications his inventions could have on humanity and lacked

Imagine being stuck in a box with absolutely no way out. Everyday becomes another struggle to escape only to find that you are being controlled and confined for no apparent reason. One would eventually let reality slip through their hands and welcome insanity into their empty minds. This is the life of the men in the novel Catch-22, by Joseph Heller. Catch-22 introduces a world were sanity and insanity have switch places, were the logical man is pronounced crazy and the insane man is pronounced a hero. In the novel Catch-22, the theme that is portrayed is that it is impossible to live as a sane person in an insane world. Heller supports this theme with the use of situations that happen to the main

In Catch-22 an awareness of morality is shown in the soldiers through their fears. Many of the soldiers are brought together by their fear in death, or returning home with an injury. Heller uses both satire and black comedy to represent the fear that reminds the soldiers of their mortality. In Chapter 7, Corporal Snark poisons the sweet potatoes with soap, and the men all eat it. Heller used satire in this scene because it portrays how

In Catch 22 and Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, both authors suggest the unsettling idea that life holds no universal conclusion because in actuality life is the continual clash of absolutes and therefore refuses ‘the reader the comfort of closure’. Both novels handle the difficult subject of war using similar postmodernist techniques to display it, such as fragmented narratives. However their intentions and ideas of war are extremely different creating interesting comparisons. De Bernier’s novel, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, published in 1994, but set during the second world war, is composed with multiple narratives, far from the omniscient narrator often found in 19th century literature. Instead

Heller has publically expressed his disagreement with war, as he spoke his objection to the idea “of American intervention in Vietnam” (Najarian) in many interviews. In the novel, he expresses his contempt for war in multiple ways. The book has many instances of comedic language that many call black humor, a dark and absurd type of comedic writing many find appaling. However, “in a 1972 interview with Richard Sale Heller took pains to make it clear that he was not a black humorist: ‘First of all, I don’t like the term ‘black humor.’ I like to think of it as sour sarcasm or ugly satire. I don’t like comedy for the sake of comedy’” (Pinsker 379). When he does use comedy, Heller has a purpose. In Catch-22, Heller makes his purpose to send a sublte message obvious as he “employs a more comedic manner to convey disdain for the army” (“Catch-22,” Literature 70). Yossarian is so desperate to get out of the war that it starts to become something of a joke as the story is progressing. At one point, “Yossarian [runs] right into the hospital, determined to remain there forever rather than fly one mission more than the thirty-two missions he had” (Heller 205). To the reader, it is comedic that Yossarian is going to such great lengths to get out of combat. This clear use of comedy sends Heller’s anti-war philosophy in an effective way. Not only does Heller speak out against war in his novel, but he also effectively communicates his belief that “institutions such as the military, big business, government, and religion are corrupt” (“Catch-22,” Novels 90) by using multiple literary devices. The corruption is being mirrored in the book as Yossarian is learning of the new regulation for the number of missions that must be flown before one is considered for discharge from service: “‘Fifty missions,’ Doc Daneeka [tells] [Yossarian], shaking his head. ‘The colonel wants fifty missions’”

After reading the first eight chapters of Catch 22 by Joseph Heller my first thought was, “Wow, this is going to be a long book.” I had read a few reviews of the book online before I started and quite a few people said that there were a lot of roundabout conversations, a few even said that it was a funny novel. I quickly understood what they meant by roundabout conversations when I hit chapter 3 and Yossarian and Orr had the conversation about crab apple cheeks. I can see where some people may find this humorous but I think it adds more to the idea that the world is ridiculous.

Almost inevitably, one will encounter a situation where there is no escape because of contradictions; better known as a no win situation, a deadlock, a double bind. Uniquely, it was indeed a novel that first embodied this situation, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Correspondingly, the situation embraced the novel’s title and the rightful moniker was introduced. Nevertheless, Catch-22 is not solely a paradoxical novel meant to elicit laughter; Catch-22 is a novel gorged with literary devices and characters that satirize government’s unscrupulous nature.