"[T]here were many officers' clubs that Yossarian had not helped build, but he was proudest
of the one on Pianosa...It was truly a splendid structure, and Yossarian throbbed with a mighty sense of accomplishment each time he gazed at it and reflected that none of the work that had gone into it was his."
"Appleby was a fair-haired boy from Iowa who believed in God, Motherhood and the American Way of Life, without ever thinking about any of them, and everybody who knew him liked him.
'I hate that son of a bitch,' Yossarian growled."
I am coming into this book not knowing exactly what the book Catch-22 is about, but I do know that a catch-22 is, in the words of Google, "a dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions." Because of this prior knowledge, I have noticed many contradictions in the first twenty pages of this book, three of which are included above. Though most of these dilemmas are used for humor, the fact that the book has become a synonym for "vicious cycle" leads me to believe that there will be a much more meaningful catch-22 later in the novel.
What struck me the most over these first few pages was this book's sense of humor. I usually don't laugh out loud at words on a page; some sort of audio or visual is needed. However, I laughed more than once over just this short section. Though war books such as this are often anything but funny, Heller's sense of humor, if it keeps up, will certainly keep me more engaged than I would be otherwise. However, Heller is probably not just trying to be funny; he is most likely trying to make some point about the absurdity of the situations that these soldiers find themselves in. Whatever his purpose, I enjoyed the first twenty pages of Catch-22 immensely, and am looking forward to reading this book over the next couple of weeks.
And, finally, my favorite line from this section:
"'Men,' Colonel Cargill began in Yossarian's squadron, measuring his pauses carefully. 'You're American officers. The officers of no other army in the world can make that statement. Think about it.'"
A good introduction to the idea of a catch-22 and how this relates to the novel. It would be great to hear some of the examples of the contradictions you've seen, as well as some of the humor that you saw.
ReplyDeleteYou mention that this is a war book, but what war does it take place during? You also explained what a catch-22 was and this made me curious as to what dilemma or dilemmas the characters in your book will face. Have they already encountered a dilemma or will there be a build up to a larger issue later in the book? If so has there been any foreshadowing to what this dilemma might be? This is a book that I am interested in reading myself and I am looking forward to learning more about it.
ReplyDeleteThis book takes place on the Mediterranean island of Pianosa during World War II. The characters are fighter pilots who are participating in the bombing of Italy. The primary catch-22 in the book is that pilots who are insane must be taken off-duty, but by asking to be taken off-duty, they prove their sanity, but they must ask to be taken off-duty in order to be taken off-duty. I hope that that run-on sentence in which I used the word "off-duty" four times makes sense. However, there are numerous simpler contradictions, such as when Yossarian (the main character) asks a woman to marry him. She refuses, saying that only a crazy man would want to marry her and she doesn't want to marry a crazy man. If this sounds interesting at all, I wholeheartedly recommend this book.
DeleteI've always wanted to read Catch-22 because I enjoy war novels and once I had picked up the book for an assignment and immediately put it down due to its length. Reading what you have to say and assuming it holds true throughout the entirety of the novel, it is really reassuring and I am more likely to choose this novel next time I have a chance. Do you think that the humor portrayed in the novel is stylistic and therefore represents something or is attempting to alter the way we think about war?
ReplyDelete