Catch 22 Essay

Catch 22 is a novel by Joseph Heller that attempts to bring out the ordinariness surrounding wars and battlefields contrary to the most widely assumed notion of heroic acts. The novel attempts to bring out the apparently uneventful aspects of wars and sometimes even negative aspects in a rather humorous and satirical way. The book is divided into forty two chapters that describe different characters and events. The catch 22 situation is presented satirically throughout the novel outlining the difficult situation experienced by solders in battle fields. The novel provides various scenarios that the characters find themselves that depict the catch 22 situation. However, the main character called Yossarian manages to bring out most of the catch 22 situation. Despite the satirical way that the author manages to depict the circumstances during the war and the battle field, it also manages to address some of the challenges faced by solders during wars.   The time setting of the novel is during the Second World War and the place setting is the Island of Pianosa in the Mediterranean Sea.

A Solders View Point

The Second World War took place between 1945 and most of the historical records of the war only address such issues as military strategies, arms race and how nations won battles against other nations. However, very little literature addresses the predicament of solders who had to endure the dangers of the battle field with most of them scantily understanding the reason for the bloodshed. The war was particularly fuelled by a battle of supremacy in ideologies and the ambition of certain political leaders to impose their ideologies on certain nations. The situation that had emanated to a full blown world war had begun much earlier characterized by mutual suspicion, regional alliances, conspiracy and espionage. Heller attempts to bring out the sufferings that the soldiers who were forced to shoot each other just because politicians had passed legislations requiring...