Catch-22, by Joseph Heller, is a novel depicting the life of an Air Force squadron during the conclusion of WWII, and how a microcosm such as the squadron is more active than meets the eye. The book sets us down in Pianosa, a small island off the Italian coast. Catch-22 is the story of Yossarian, a bombardier for ... were more concerned with their bombs dropping in good formation (for the purpose of good-looking aerial photos) than the actual destruction of their targets. Catch-22 is actually more of a collection of related short stories and anecdotes than a story with a defined timeline; n...

• Word Count: 973
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Bureaucracy In his novel Catch-22, Joseph Heller captures the hypocrisy of freedom in the army. All aspects of the lives and deaths of the men in Yossarian's squadron are controlled by the bureaucracy, which refuses to listen to the men that it controls. When Scheisskopf is interrogating Clevinger, ... missions, Colonel Cathcart, a bureaucrat, raises the number just because he has the authority to do so. The main characteristic of a bureaucrat in Catch-22 is the ability to defy logic. Doc Daneeka best represents this ability when he refuses to ground Yossarian for insanity, since Yossari...

• Word Count: 299
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: Undergraduate