Catch-22

Joseph Heller was an American author during the 20th century. His works included Something Happened, God Knows, and Closing Times, but his most notable book was Catch-22. Written based on Heller’s experience in World War Two as an Air Force bombardier, the satirical war novel is regarded as one of the must-read books from the 20th century due to its thrilling storyline, complex theme, and special structure. 

The story takes place in Italy during 1944, near the end of World War II and it centers around the life of Captain Yossarian, a United States Air Force bombardier. When one of his soldiers, Snowden, dies in his arms during a mission, Yossarian becomes disgusted at the war. Terrorized, he begins to fear death. Meanwhile, Yossarian’s colonel continuously raises the number of missions Yossarian’s squadron must fly to be released from duty. Desperate to escape the war, Yossarian claims to be insane in hopes of fleeing from the violence, but he finds out about Catch-22, a law stating that any soldier who is insane can be discharged if he declares himself to be insane. The law, however, also specifies that a soldier who claims to be insane is sane and must return to duty. Thus, Yossarian cannot be discharged. In reality, Catch-22 is any paradoxical law used by the military’s higher-ups to trap their soldiers. As the story progresses, Yossarian is forced to watch his friends die one by one. Yossarian must find a way to break free from Catch-22 before he too is killed.  

One of the book’s main themes is the absurd power of military bureaucracy. With no compassion for human life, the military’s high ranking officers make many selfish decisions, only caring about gaining more power. Heller satires this by depicting it through the paradox in Catch 22. For example, Yossarian fears his commanders more than his enemies because it is their decisions that are getting him killed, not the war. Throughout the story, other soldiers die because of Catch-22’s restrictions. Such irony creates humor but also forces the reader to reflect on the madness of war and the corruption that comes with power. 

Although the book has a powerful theme, it is the unique structure that makes it stand out above the rest. The plot is not told in chronological order. Instead, it is arranged in short stories about different characters that are out of sequence. At first, the timeline seems to be slightly confusing with Hellar giving just enough information for the reader to vaguely know what is going on. However, as the reader dives deeper in the book, which seemed to be just a few amusing stories evolve into an intricately designed storyline. With this structure, Heller brilliantly makes readers want more as they read and keeps them thinking, creating suspense till the very end. Overall, Catch-22 is recommended for mature readers who want a challenge. Its engaging plot, thought-provoking theme, and distinct structure take the reader on a humorous and exciting but reflective journey.

Image Citation:

Beekmans, Rob. “Beware of the Catch-22 When Setting up Google Security.” Robbeekmans.net, 25 June 2018, robbeekmans.net/mobility/beware-of-the-catch-22-when-setting-up-google-security/.

Reflection: As mentioned in my unit reflection response, this was one of the most challenging piece of writing I had to do this semester. Having to understand the book was hard but having to put everything into 500 words was challenging. At first, I had multiple themes that I wanted to talk about, but I had to narrow them down to just one. It was also tough to put such a long book into a very short overview that could hopefully hook the reader’s attention. Although it was not easy, I did enjoy the experience of writing a book review for the first time.