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Catch-22 is a novel by the American author Joseph Heller. Plot introduction The novel follows Captain John Yossarian, a fictional U.S. Army Air Forces B-25 bombardier, and a number of other characters during World War II. Most events in the book occur while the airmen of the Fighting 256th (or "two to the fighting eighth power") Squadron are based on the island of Pianosa, west of Italy. Many events in the book are described repeatedly from differing points of view, so that the reader learns more about the event with each iteration. The pacing of Catch-22 is frenetic, its tenor is intellectual, and its humor is largely absurd, but with grisly moments of realism interspersed. Explanation of the novels title A magazine excerpt from the novel was originally published as Catch-18, but Heller's publisher requested that he change the title of the novel so it wouldn't be confused with another recently published World War II novel, Leon Uris's Mila 18. The number 18 has special meaning in Judaism and was relevant to early drafts of the novel which had a somewhat greater Jewish emphasis. There was a suggestion for the title Catch-11, with the duplicated 1 in parallel to the repetition found in a number of character exchanges in the novel, but due to the release of the original movie Ocean's Eleven this was also rejected. Catch-14 was also rejected apparently because the publisher did not feel that 14 was a "funny number". So eventually the title came to be Catch-22, which like 11 has a duplicated digit with the 2 also referring to a number déjà vu like events common in the novel. The concept Catch-22 is, among other things, a general critique of bureaucratic operation and reasoning. As a result of its specific use in the book, the phrase "Catch-22" has come into common use to mean a no-win situation or 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 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. For example, 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 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 bureaucratic actions. At one point, victims of harassment by military agents quote the agents as having explained one of Catch-22s 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 does not 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. Plot timeline A timeline has been developed by CS Bruhans Jr *, whereby the main plot follows the actions of Yossarian. Major themes 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 the folly of patriotism and honour, which leads most of the airmen to accept Catch-22 and the abusive lies of 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. Characters in Catch-22 Below is a list of all the major characters in the book; there is a separate page for a complete list of characters. Influences Although Heller always had a desire to be an author from an early age, his own experiences a as bombardier over Avignon during World War II strongly influence Catch-22. Czech writer Arnošt Lustig recounts in his book 3x18*, that Joseph Heller personally told him that he would never have written Catch-22 had he not first read The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek.** Literary significance & criticism As commented on by Joseph Heller himself in the preface to Catch-22 from 1994 onwards, the novel raised very polarised views on its first publication in the United States. Reviews in a publications ranged from the very positive; The Nation ("was the best novel to come out in years"), the New York Herald Tribune ("A wild, moving, shocking, hilarious, raging, exhilarating, giant roller-coaster of a book")* and the New York Times ("A dazzling performance that will outrage nearly as many readers as it delights") to the highly negative; The New Yorker ("doesn't even seem to be written; instead, it gives the impression of having being shouted onto paper", "what remains is a debris of sour jokes") and from another critic of the New York Times ("is repetitive and monotonous. Or one can say that it is too short because none of its many interesting characters and actions is given enough play to become a controlling interest")* Although the novel won no awards at publication, and some highly respected critics such Harold Bloom thought that the novel "was destined to fade into irrelevance in a decade or so",* it has stood the test of the time and now is seen as one of the most significant novels of the 20th century.* Influences on other works Catch-22 was published during the Vietnam War, and became a given concept in the vast number of war novels published of that time. John C Pratt states that their are least nine novels that probably would not have been written if it were not for Catch-22, five of these that are realistic but incorporate Catch-22 situations or characters, and four are more fantastic like the world that Heller creates in Catch-22. Realistic Fantastic Awards and rankings Awards - none known. Film adaptations Catch-22 was adapted into a feature film of the same name in 1970, directed by Mike Nichols. Release details This list covers the first and most recent printed publications by the original publisher Simon & Schuster as well as all other formats. Other print publishers include; Dell, Corgi, Vintage, Knopf, Black Swan, Grasset & Fasquelle and Wahlström & Widstrand. See also | |||||||
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