Zeitgeism In Catch-22
Matz 1
Carly Matz
Mrs. Kabboord
AP Literature Period 6
5 February 2014
Catch-22: A Zeitgeist of World War II
World War II was one of the most widespread wars ever conducted. Over 100 million people, coming from about 30 different countries, participated in total war (Connaughton 41).
As the violent and passionate war went on, there was barely any distinction between civilians and soldiers as the war affected everyone so much. The airmen of World War II were treated unfairly and put through extremely harrowing conditions throughout their experience as part of the United States Army. Such a significant war has been widely documented from many different perspectives to bring nonparticipants into the war and give them a first-hand …show more content…
Disease, starvation, rape, and theft only added to the horrors that the war brought upon the soldiers
(Beevor 100). When Yossarin decided he no longer wanted to be part of the army and decided to flee to Rome, he witnessed many of these horrors first hand (Heller 382). He wandered the sinister streets of Rome and saw the impact the war had on the people of Italy. The war brought about these aspects with its violent and malicious nature, exemplifying this bad behavior to the people of the world.
A major life-lesson Yossarin had to slowly learn to accept, and another example of
Catch-22, was the fact that dying is inevitable. Yossarin’s main goal throughout the book is to stay alive or die trying. He frequently faked illnesses to be able to stay in the hospital as opposed
Carlyle Matz
Friday, February 21, 2014 7:50:41 PM Eastern Standard Time
Matz 7 to flying missions (Heller 50). He also manipulated his officers by secretly changing the bombing course for the day so the officers thought that their original plan had already been performed (Heller 179). Another one of his tactics was giving his squadron food poisoning …show more content…
Critics also argue veterans may seek for justification for the things that they did in the army and regret. Looking back on their time in the war, they may realize how cruel their actions were and experience remorse. The veterans try to compensate for this by blaming their motives on the army and the war, which is what Heller could be doing through Yossarin. However, countless sources have indicated the indecency witnessed by the participants of World War II and the extremely poor conditions the fighters were put under. Heller wrote this novel to show the post-WWII people what it was like to be a part of this world-wide, ghastly phenomenon through an compelling story line.
As a whole, the airmen of World War II were treated unfairly and put into unnecessary, unspeakable situations. Authority figures volunteered their troops to perform knowingly-fatal missions. The men were not permitted to go back home as their minimum mission requirement kept getting raised. World War II had unfathomable effects on its participants, specifically the airmen of the Italian campaign. Nearly everyone in the war experienced the loss of
Carly Matz
Mrs. Kabboord
AP Literature Period 6
5 February 2014
Catch-22: A Zeitgeist of World War II
World War II was one of the most widespread wars ever conducted. Over 100 million people, coming from about 30 different countries, participated in total war (Connaughton 41).
As the violent and passionate war went on, there was barely any distinction between civilians and soldiers as the war affected everyone so much. The airmen of World War II were treated unfairly and put through extremely harrowing conditions throughout their experience as part of the United States Army. Such a significant war has been widely documented from many different perspectives to bring nonparticipants into the war and give them a first-hand …show more content…
Disease, starvation, rape, and theft only added to the horrors that the war brought upon the soldiers
(Beevor 100). When Yossarin decided he no longer wanted to be part of the army and decided to flee to Rome, he witnessed many of these horrors first hand (Heller 382). He wandered the sinister streets of Rome and saw the impact the war had on the people of Italy. The war brought about these aspects with its violent and malicious nature, exemplifying this bad behavior to the people of the world.
A major life-lesson Yossarin had to slowly learn to accept, and another example of
Catch-22, was the fact that dying is inevitable. Yossarin’s main goal throughout the book is to stay alive or die trying. He frequently faked illnesses to be able to stay in the hospital as opposed
Carlyle Matz
Friday, February 21, 2014 7:50:41 PM Eastern Standard Time
Matz 7 to flying missions (Heller 50). He also manipulated his officers by secretly changing the bombing course for the day so the officers thought that their original plan had already been performed (Heller 179). Another one of his tactics was giving his squadron food poisoning …show more content…
Critics also argue veterans may seek for justification for the things that they did in the army and regret. Looking back on their time in the war, they may realize how cruel their actions were and experience remorse. The veterans try to compensate for this by blaming their motives on the army and the war, which is what Heller could be doing through Yossarin. However, countless sources have indicated the indecency witnessed by the participants of World War II and the extremely poor conditions the fighters were put under. Heller wrote this novel to show the post-WWII people what it was like to be a part of this world-wide, ghastly phenomenon through an compelling story line.
As a whole, the airmen of World War II were treated unfairly and put into unnecessary, unspeakable situations. Authority figures volunteered their troops to perform knowingly-fatal missions. The men were not permitted to go back home as their minimum mission requirement kept getting raised. World War II had unfathomable effects on its participants, specifically the airmen of the Italian campaign. Nearly everyone in the war experienced the loss of