Catch22 A Study in PostWar Attitudes
Catch-22: A Study in Post-War AttitudesIn 1961, Joseph Heller published Catch-22, his first novel. Based on his own war experiences, the novel wickedly satirized bureaucracy, patriotism, and all manner of traditional American ideals. This was reflective of the increasing disdain for traditional viewpoints that was growing in America at that time. (Potts, p. 13) The book soon became championed as another voice in the antiwar movement of the 1960's. However, Heller himself claimed that his novel was less about World War II, or war at all, than it was an allegory for the Cold War and the materialistic "Establishment" attitudes of the Eisenhower era. (Kiley, pp. 318-321) Thus, Catch-22 represents a rebellion against the standards of the Eisenhower era. Catch-22 follows the experiences of Yossarian, a bombardier stationed near Italy during World War II. Yossarian is clearly representative of Heller; indeed, he could be considered an everyman. (Kiley, p. 336) Because of a traumatic experience, which is revealed bit by bit throughout the novel, Yossarian is terrified of flying. Yet Colonel Cathcart keeps raising the number of missions the men must fly. Yossarian's attempts to avoid flying are met with th
Heller proposed that it was truly insane to commit one's life to anything as nebulous and indefinite as a nation or ideal. People die stupidly, from stupid causes, in stupid situations, by stupid mistakes. Those people it has offended, it has offended on the basis of literary value. 208-214) Beyond its importance as a novel about the war, Catch-22 also lambastes the blind conformity to social norms of the 1950's.
Common topics in this essay:
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