Catch 22 Analysis
In Catch-22 chapters 36-42, Yossarian asserts himself to the administration by bravely declaring that he would no longer fly missions. In these chapters, Heller shows a recurring message of the book: A soldier can not escape the tribulations of a war.
The definition of “Catch-22” states that only insane men fly missions, but at the same time if a man attempts to stop flying missions by claim of insanity, he is sane a must continue flying missions. By this logic the soldiers have are trapped in a paradoxical, never ending loop of increasing missions. This was a conundrum Yossarian faced until “he told Captain Piltchard and Captain Wren that he was through flying.” The diction, purposefully avoiding the mention of any reason for Yossarian’s …show more content…
Though Yossarian is no longer concerned about facing death during his missions, his concern then shifts to escaping Nately’s whore; who is in pursuit of him with intent to kill him, after receiving news from him of Nately’s death. Throughout the remaining chapters she randomly resurfaces and attempts to kill him. This happens up until the last page of the book where she “came down (with the knife), missing him by inches.” Yossarian dreaded his missions because to him his life was more important than the war. He finally escaped the missions and believed his life would be secure and unthreatened. Heller though, shows that there is no fooling Catch-22. Though Yossarian was no longer fighting in the war, his life was still at stake due to the effect of the war. Heller strategically uses diction as well as sentence structure, using the phrase, “missing him by inches” and placing it on the last page of the book. Inches is a term everyone is familiar with as a very small unit of measurement. Heller uses inches to make the reader visually understand the sheer threat behind Yossarian’s situation. Additionally, by waiting until the very last page of the book to include this scene, the reader realizes that at no time was Yossarians life truly secured.
Heller’s Catch-22 created an inescapable scenario, making it impossible for a soldier to escape the terrors of war. By finding a loophole to
The definition of “Catch-22” states that only insane men fly missions, but at the same time if a man attempts to stop flying missions by claim of insanity, he is sane a must continue flying missions. By this logic the soldiers have are trapped in a paradoxical, never ending loop of increasing missions. This was a conundrum Yossarian faced until “he told Captain Piltchard and Captain Wren that he was through flying.” The diction, purposefully avoiding the mention of any reason for Yossarian’s …show more content…
Though Yossarian is no longer concerned about facing death during his missions, his concern then shifts to escaping Nately’s whore; who is in pursuit of him with intent to kill him, after receiving news from him of Nately’s death. Throughout the remaining chapters she randomly resurfaces and attempts to kill him. This happens up until the last page of the book where she “came down (with the knife), missing him by inches.” Yossarian dreaded his missions because to him his life was more important than the war. He finally escaped the missions and believed his life would be secure and unthreatened. Heller though, shows that there is no fooling Catch-22. Though Yossarian was no longer fighting in the war, his life was still at stake due to the effect of the war. Heller strategically uses diction as well as sentence structure, using the phrase, “missing him by inches” and placing it on the last page of the book. Inches is a term everyone is familiar with as a very small unit of measurement. Heller uses inches to make the reader visually understand the sheer threat behind Yossarian’s situation. Additionally, by waiting until the very last page of the book to include this scene, the reader realizes that at no time was Yossarians life truly secured.
Heller’s Catch-22 created an inescapable scenario, making it impossible for a soldier to escape the terrors of war. By finding a loophole to