Catch-22
Catch-22 is, among other things, a general critique of
bureaucratic operation and reasoning. As generalized from its specific in the book, described below, the phrase "Catch 22" has come into common use to mean a
double bind of any type.
Within the book, "catch-22" is introduced as a military rule, the self-contradictory,
circular logic of which, for example, prevents anyone from avoiding combat missions. In Heller's own words:
There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.'That's some catch, that Catch-22,' he observed.'It's the best there is,' Doc Daneeka agreed.
As in the above example, much of Heller's prose in
Catch-22 is circular and repetitive, exemplifying in its form the structure of a catch-22. Heller revels in the use of
paradox. Examples are
The Texan turned out to be good-natured, generous and likeable. In three days no one could stand him, and
The case against Clevinger was open and shut. The only thing missing was something to charge him with. This constantly undermines the reader's understanding of the social milieu of the characters, and is key to understanding the book. An atmosphere of logical irrationality pervades the whole description of Yossarian's life in the armed forces, and indeed the entire book.
Other forms of Catch-22 are invoked at other points in the novel to justify various other actions. At one point, victims of harassment by military agents quote the agents as having explained one of Catch-22's most
macabre and
rococo provisions in this fashion: Catch-22 states that agents enforcing Catch-22 need not prove that Catch-22 actually contains whatever provision the accused violator is accused of violating. An old woman explains:
Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing. Yossarian comes to realize that Catch-22 doesn't actually exist, but that because the powers that be claim it does and the world believes that it does, it nevertheless has potent effects. Indeed, because it doesn't really exist there is no way it can be repealed, undone, overthrown, or denounced. The combination of brute force with specious legalistic justification is one of the book's primary motifs.
The book sets out the absurdity of living by the rules of others, be they friends, family, governments, systems, religions or philosophies. The world itself is portrayed as insane, so the only practical survival strategy is to be oneself insane. Another theme is that of the folly of
patriotism and
honour, which leads most of the airmen to accept Catch-22s and being lied to by abusive bureaucrats, but which Yossarian never accepts as a legitimate answer to his complaints.
While the (official) enemy are the Germans, no German ever actually appears in the story. As the narrative progresses, Yossarian comes to fear American bureaucrats more than he fears the Germans attempting to shoot down his bomber.
As the Czech writer
Arnošt Lustig[
1] recounts in his latest book
3x18[
2], Joseph Heller personally told him that he would never have written
Catch-22 had he not first read
The Good Soldier Å vejk by
Jaroslav Hašek.
*
Yossarian*
"Aarfy" Aardvark*
Appleby*
Captain Black*The
C.I.D. Investigators*
Colonel Cargill*
Colonel Cathcart*
Clevinger*
Nurse Cramer*
Major Danby*
Doc Daneeka*
Mrs. Daneeka*
Major â€"â€" de Coverley*
General Dreedle*
General Peckem*
Dreedle's girl*
Dobbs*
Nurse Duckett*
Dunbar*
Dori Duz*
Captain Flume*
Gus & Wes*
Havermeyer*
Huple*
Hungry Joe*
Sergeant Knight*
Corporal Kolodny*
Colonel Korn*
Kraft*
Luciana*The
Maid with the lime-colored panties*
Major Major Major Major*
McWatt*
Michaela*
Milo Minderbinder*
Colonel Moodus*
Mudd (aka the Dead Man in Yossarian's tent)
*
Lieutenant Nately*
Nately's Whore*
Nately's Whore's Kid Sister*The
Old Man in Rome*
Orr*
Piltchard & Wren*
Kid Sampson*
Major Sanderson*
Lieutenant Scheisskopf â€" later
General Scheisskopf*
Mrs. Scheisskopf*
Corporal Snark*
Snowden*The
Soldier in White*
The Soldier Who Sees Everything Twice (aka Giuseppe)
*
Dr. Stubbs*
Chaplain Tappman (R. O. Shipman in earlier editions)
*
The Texan*
Sergeant Towser*
Corporal Whitcomb*
Chief White Halfoat*
ex-PFC Wintergreen*
Yo-Yo's Roomies*
Catch-22 as a figure of speech*
What is Catch-22? And why does the book matter?*
Catch-22 (logic)*
Hobson's choice*
Morton's fork*
Paradoxes
*
No-win situation*
Antinomy*
Trial by drowning*
The Good Soldier Svejk
