Catch221
The name of the novel I read is Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. This novel's uniqueness makes it hard to classify but I would classify it as an anti-war novel. The main theme of the novel is one of hope and freedom from the barbaric grasp of war. Heller uses World War II as an almost invisible framework in which he places a number of vaguely related stories presented in no particular chronological order, although the final narrative does tie them all together. Catch-22 was written in a very comical style. It displays the foolishness of wars and the inherent violence and idiotic bureaucracy while eliminating the glory, honor and graphic depictions so often included in wartime novels. Heller uses loads of humor to convey his messages and while the main theme is obvious to the reader, there are many hidden and double meanings buried in the intriguing stories. I selected this novel because it was highly recommended by a close friend and I definitely enjoyed it. Heller's humor is what I liked most about the novel. The novel is guaranteed to bring a smile to anyone's face and I absolutely loved the characters. On the other hand, I found his lack of timeline very frustrating and confusing. Some may consider this ingenious but
I found Catch-22 to be a very enjoyable novel but though it wasn't without its imperfections. He resembles Henry Fonda and his promotion to squadron commander causes him to lose all his friends and sets him in a deep depression where he decides that he can only be seen when he is not in his office. I had never heard the name before and I knew from the beginning that he would be an interesting character. In fact, his influence is so vast that he contracts the Germans to bomb Americans and the Americans to shoot down German planes. When I first began the novel, I was intrigued by the name Yossarian. Hungry Joe is a member of Yossarian's squadron who is obsessed with naked women and suffers from terrible nightmares on the nights before he's not supposed to fly. I thought he was very comical as were many of the other characters so I enjoyed the first few chapters. McWatt refuses to land the plane and then crashes it into the side of a mountain. But when the rain stops, Yossarian moves the bomb line on the map to indicate that Bologna has already been captured. And how can we forget Yossarian who went from being a brave bombardier to almost betraying his dead friends and living his life as a hypocrite. Other than that, I have no complaints about this book and even without the timeline it's an ingenious work. Yossarian realizes that this is a blatant betrayal of his friends and his beliefs but is quite elated at the opportunity to go home so he accepts. Most importantly, he runs off into the distance free without any obligation to anyone but himself. Heller also tries to show us that despite the atrocity of war, the human spirit can survive and overcome. Captain Black, yet another member of Yossarian's squadron, is very pleased that Colonel Cathcart has volunteered them for the outrageously dangerous mission of bombing Bologna.
Common topics in this essay:
Colonel Cathcart,
War II,
Sweden Yossarian,
Hungry Joe,
Colonel Cathcart's,
Doc Daneeka,
Captain Black's,
Bologna Yossarian,
Americans Americans,
Milo Throughout,
colonel cathcart,
nately's whore,
sent home,
yossarian's squadron,
double meanings,
runs distance,
raises missions,
black market,
nately's death,
doc daneeka,
sent home yossarian,
betraying dead friends,
responsible nately's death,
nately's death attempts,
yossarian responsible nately's,
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Acceptance Essays
