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Catch 22 Joseph Heller’s novel Catch 22 is a brilliant work, and one that he is most renowned for. It is an extremely humourous work. It is of humour not of the blunt style of the television show, Everybody Loves Raymond, and it is not of slapstick like I Love Lucy. It has subtle, intelligent humour, which uses mostly language, not story, to create all the amusement and enjoyment. There are many aspects of the novel that create humour. These include the fact that the characters go against common views of what soldiers and officers should be like and the excessive amounts of hypocrisy by almost every character. The novel shows to us humorously the lengths people would have gone to avoid fighting battles, flying missions, or contributing to the war effort at all. Throughout the entire novel, characters are continuously contradicting themselves creates much humour. The novel also displays that even the respectable, high-ranking officers are childish and immature like those they command, along with the usual set-up of the powerful taking out their troubles on those under them and the usual fact that all superior officers are stupid. The novel displays how the stupidest things seem to be rewarded in war, and contrasts this with positions that should be respected, being mocked. Firstly, Joseph Heller’s novel goes against the common picture of soldiers and the army. Take, for example, Yossarian’s character. He was a mere first lieutenant, and then he missed a bomb site, disobeyed orders, went around again, and re-bombed a bridge, killing one of his bombardiers in the process. For this, he was given a medal for bravery, and a promotion to captain, and what a fine captain he was. Many a time, he faked sickness or injury to avoid fighting with his fellow pilots. Also in the category of unconventional characters are Milo, Doc Daneeka and his two assistants (something and Wes), Nately, Sheisskopf and Major Major. Milo is the example of someone who devotes himself wholly to making a profit out of the war. He cares not for missions, or for flying bomb raids, but for flying trade routes around the whole of Europe, turning war into big business. He even trades with the enemy, and bombs his own air base, yet he is not scolded or even disciplined. In fact, he is praised by his superiors. We picture war doctors as serious, intelligent men, working hard to save the lives of the sick and wounded. Doc Daneeka goes completely against this. He is a laid back, lazy, though intelligent worker, who rarely visits the medical tent. Working in his stead are two young officers who have no idea about medicine, except how to take blood pressure and temperature. Nately is a rich man’s son. He enjoys flying, and is always willing to fly the extra missions as they are raised. He is the perfect officer. The ideal soldier you would like to have flying on your side. Instead of being appreciated, Nately is exploited, and is soon dead in a venture to marry a prostitute. Sheisskopf started the novel as a second lieutenant, and was soon promoted to first lieutenant, and then on to General. Why was he originally promoted? For making the men march without moving their arms. We do not picture people as being promoted for pointless acts such as these, yet in Catch 22 Sheisskopf is promoted to General. Major Major is the commanding officer of the squadron, yet he is an absolute, simple-minded moron. Take, for example, pages 134-135. Here Major Major is conversing with Yossarian about Colonel Korn’s continual raising of the number of missions flown before one can be sent home. Her is an extract of those two pages: What could you possibly say to him? Major Major wondered forlornly. One thing he could not say was that there was nothing he could do. To say there was nothing he could do, would suggest he would do something if he could and imply the existence of an error of injustice in Colonel Korn’s policy.
Approximate Word count = 2647
Approximate Pages = 10.6
(250 words per page double spaced)
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