Chronologically Confused -- Chapters 23-31

In medias res is Latin for “in the middle of things.”  It describes a popular literary technique where the story begins not with the first chronological event, but somewhere in the middle.  Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey begin this way, and a more modern example would be the first episode of Breaking Bad.  Catch-22, however, does not just provide a glimpse into the future before doubling back and telling the rest of the story in order; until this section, the entire story is jumbled, with constant references forward and back. Though the action becomes more linear a couple of chapters into this section, I wanted to try to put the chapters into general order and explore how the characters grow chronologically, though the order that Heller puts the chapters in is probably better to read than this.  To determine the order, I am mostly using the number of missions the men are required to fly, which moves up in increments of five throughout the book from 25 in the beginning to 70 at the end of chapter 31.

 

1. Chapters 8 and 18

These chapters cover Yossarian’s training, before he comes to Europe.  He is already obviously not one for authority, and often argues with his friend Clevinger about the value of patriotism.  He also discovers that faking sick to get into the hospital is a good technique for avoiding things he doesn’t want to do.  He also argues with his commander’s wife about God, whom Yossarian believes is real and evil but Mrs. Scheisskopf believes is fake and good.  Yossarian has started to grow into the character we see later, but is not completely disillusioned yet.

2. Chapter 6

Yossarian first arrives in Europe, needing 25 missions to be grounded.  Unfortunately, Colonel Cathcart takes command, and the required number of missions begins to rise.  Looking back chronologically, this is the point in the book where Yossarian is doomed to fly missions until the war is over.  Yossarian is fond of saying that anyone who is trying to kill him, German or American, is his enemy; Colonel Cathcart, though he is only mentioned intermittently, is the personification of the American leadership who has no problem feeding lives into the war.  This is also the first chronological mention of the Ferrara mission, when Yossarian went back over a bridge that he had missed and got a fighter pilot named Kraft killed.  This is when he starts going from run-of-the-mill disobedient to self-preserving at all costs.

3. Chapters 12-16

These chapters focus on what Yossarian calls “The Great Big Siege of Bologna.”  The men, fearful of the staunch defenses at Bologna, try everything they can to not go.  They poison themselves by eating soap, secretly alter the maps of the commanding officers, and when that fails, Yossarian turns his plane around because his intercom is faulty.  This is the first time a group of chapters is mostly chronological, though there are still many flashbacks and looks ahead.  

4. Chapters 4-5, 17

The main focus of these chapters is the Avignon mission, when a Yossarian’s rear gunner, Snowden, dies in his arms because of the ineptitude of his navigator, Aarfy.  Yossarian truly loses it for a while after this; he shows up to receive his medal for valor totally naked, though it seems like that is because he no longertwants to wear his uniform.  Yossarian’s friend from training, Clevinger, disappears into a cloud during this mission and, to this where I am in the book, has never been seen again.  Yossarian finally decides to go back into the hospital for the rest of the war, which brings us back to…

5. Chapter 1

The novel opens with Yossarian in the hospital, ostensibly recovering from a liver condition, but maybe, as I look at this chronology, recovering from watching Snowden die.  Snowden haunts Yossarian for the rest of the book, but Yossarian is at least able to function after this trip to the hospital.

6. Chapters 25-31  

Finally, the action seems to be coming in a specific order.  There are many chapters I haven’t mentioned, but that is either because their events happen over such a long period of time (including many chapters that follow one character), and some that I can’t identify when they occur.  

I am of course not entirely sure of Heller’s intentions in ordering the book in such a fashion, but perhaps he is trying to show how events come back to veterans—jumbled, in a confusing order that mirrors the chaos of war itself.  So far, Catch-22 would be a great book backwards, forwards, or upside-down, and I am a little sad that it is drawing to a close.