In ‘Catch 22’ Heller uses many themes, using his unique style, to satirize war and the values it portrays. ‘Catch 22’ is a difficult term to explain, but basically it is referring to the fact that every rule has an exception. This catch keeps the main character, Yossarian, within the war, because the fear he has for his own life proved he wasn’t crazy and therefore couldn’t be sent home. The catch is also used by the superior powers to uphold or increase their control and therefore harmful to those who do not have the power, such as Yossarian. There are many themes in ‘Catch 22’ and Heller uses his stylistic techniques to reinforce these, the main themes being, greed, absolute power of bureaucracy, loss of religious faith and the inevitability of death.

I am going to look deeper into three sequences which reflect three of these themes, firstly I am going to investigate the absolute power of bureaucracy. The novel shows how an average man can be manipulated by war, and not only has to fight the enemy but has to fight his own men. This especially applies to the upper army officials and officers. This is on

A technique Heller uses within ‘Catch 22’ is repetition within conversations. On a macro scale this illustrates the point that war is extremely monotonous, however on a micro scale (one that is relevant to the book only) it can refer to the bombing raids that Colonel Cathcart keeps raising in order to become a general. This repetition within a conversation can also be described as ‘key stone cops’ slapstick humour and also reinforces the view that the senior officers in combat situations constantly change their minds. An example of this within the court room scene can be seen on page 103, “‘No sir,’ ‘No sir? Are you calling me a goddam liar?’ ‘Oh no sir,’ ‘Then you are a windy son of a bitch, aren’t you?’ ‘No sir.’” This conversation is very trivial, which again is satirizing war, as Heller is highlighting the view that in many cases wars are started over very trivial matters. This repetition is also proving the point that most countries/people believe, when starting a war, that it is going to end further conflicts. However, this very rarely happens and more conflicts are created, meaning more wars. This was extremely evident in the case of Catch 22, as at the end of World War One the conflict was described as the “war to end all wars,” yet in less than twenty years World War Two had begun.

‘Catch 22’ is far from a typical war story, rather a sarcastic interpretation of war. It is extremely clever, mainly due to Heller’s hidden themes and the techniques that support these themes. One of the main goals of Heller was to satirize the monotonous machinery of war and the way in which it can affect ordinary people, such as Yossarian, Milo and the Chaplain. All that matters to the officers is getting a promotion; in contrast all that matters to the most ordinary soldiers is staying alive (with the exception of some characters such as Mcwatt, Clevinger and Nately). Heller uses this to highlight the fact that nobody really knows what they are fighting for, which relates to the famous question, “What is patriotism?”

Just like the first scene studied, there is a subliminal reference to communism, “…but Russia, with whom Milo refused to do business.” The syndicate almost represents a socialist organisation, with the theme of the syndicate being, ‘everybody has a share.’ However the sequence becomes a satire of the communist belief, as the only person who gains the profits and makes the money is Milo, despite his attempts to make it seem otherwise, “M&M enterprises stood for Milo & Minderbinder, and the & was inserted to nullify any impression that the syndicate was a one-man operation.”

The idea of religion is also reflected through all the paradoxes that are included within the novel. Heller also uses a huge number of paradoxes, his biggest love, throughout the novel. The main reason for all the paradoxes is to reflect the view of the author that war is in itself a paradox, especially in the case of America. The country is deeply religious, especially in the Bible belt that runs across the country, and believes in the values of Christianity. Yet in theory the act of war is going against Christian ideals, this is seen as the deepest paradox within ‘Catch 22’. Also when you sign up to the army it is the belief that it is to defend your country. Heller especially chooses the location of Pianosa, off Italy, as the setting for the novel as it highlights the view that you are actually attacking another country thousands of miles away from your own country.

Some topics in this essay:
Colonel Cathcart, World War, M&M Fancy, , Firstly Colonel, Germany Gestapo, Scheisskopf Yossarian, Patriotism” Milo, Colonel Lieutenant, Lieutenant Scheisskopf’s, ‘catch 22’, senior officers, own squadron, throughout novel, court scene, technique heller, absolute power bureaucracy, heller highlighting, world war, doesn’t believe, colonel cathcart, bombing missions complete, “double coat flat, yossarian lieutenant scheisskopf’s, view senior officers,