Catch-22 by Joseph Heller "You wouldn't be normal if you were never afraid. Even the bravest men experience fear. One of the biggest jobs we all face in combat is to overcome fear."(p.102) Theme There are a couple themes that create what is Catch-22, but the most significant was how death is viewed by society. Especially to Yossarian, death is always on the mind. Every member of his squadron are expected to do such life-risking tasks which are truly insane. Yossarian contemplates death quite often throughout the novel and comes to the conclusion that he will do anything to save his own life. "Anything worth living for is worth dying for." -Nately (p. 247) Literary Devices and Figurative Language Diction Foreshadowing Irony Metaphor Repetition Simile The examples of figurative language and literary devices used above all coincide to produce a novel in which the absurdity of war is told through the life of Yossarian. The things Yossarian sees, such as the death of his fellow peers and the commands he is given by his superiors are depicted in the quotes above and lead the story through its ups and downs. Plot Perspective This book is written in third-person point of view. Although the plot is usually expressed focusing on Yossarian, Heller also includes the thoughts of other characters. |
 Tone The tone of Catch-22 is almost that of mockery. Joseph Heller constructed a novel which jokes about the absurdity of war. Throughout the novel, Yossarian's superiors continually raise the number of missions each member of the squadron must complete, in order for them to never leave. Rather than speaking of war as patriotic and the right thing to do for your country, Heller created a character who will do anything to avoid the war, in which ridiculous missions are created under ridiculous terms and people just die, one by one. Mood Through a majority of Catch-22, the mood is rather comical and sarcastic. However, things begin to change as Yossarian watches his peers of his squadron lose their lives one after the other. The mood becomes gloomy. Things end on a happy note as Yossarian is able to escape from the squadron after the circumstances become far too ridiculous to handle. Protagonist Deconstruction The protagonist and main character of Catch-22 is Yossarian, a man apart of a squadron, of whom everyone believes is insane. He is different from most other protagonists of novels because he is not necessarily a hero- he is a different breed of hero. Throughout the novel, he is most concerned with saving his own life, rather than saving others. He attempts to escape from the war and death by conjuring up fake ailments and being sent to the hospital. Thoughts of death overcome him as he watches all of his friends die, one by one. As the novel progresses, he matures in the sense that he would rather stay loyal to the memory of his friends than to be sent home through a lie he would live to his superiors. |
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