What Are The Symbols In Catch 22

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Catch 22 Notes Catch 22 is a novel centered around World War II, and the ironic and absurd things that happen to the men in the squadron on the island of Pianosa. The squadrons’ leaders, Colonel Cathcart and Colonel Korn, inconsiderately throw the men of the squadron into perilous and dangerous battles, to look better to their superiors. The men of the squadron are also ordered to fly their missions in such a way as to make a better picture then to correctly and safely hit their targets. The number of missions to be flown before being grounded are constantly raised throughout the book from an initial 25 to 80, but most of the fighters don’t seem to notice. Aside from Yossarian, the protagonist of the book, many are blind to the fact that a war is going on. At one point in the…show more content…
This is the turning point for Yossarian as he sees death right in front of his eyes. There were also many symbols in the book. One symbol in the book is when Aarfy raped and killed the girl in Rome. As Yossarian is telling Aarfy that he is going to be arrested, Aarfy denies the fact and insist that he wouldn’t be arrested for killing “her”. This shows how insensitive war makes some men. Another symbol is the chocolate covered cotton Milo was trying to sell when he had a surplus of cotton. This shows how at first the war seemed good and many believed it would be over fast, but as time went on the people soon saw war for what it really was. The people didn’t know how bad it was until they were stuck with it. There was also one major example of imagery in Catch 22 of the wounded Snowden. As Yossarian tried to help Snowden with the wound on his leg, he hadn’t noticed the large and deathly one underneath Snowdens’ flak suit. But when Yossarian took off the suit, Snowdens’ inside spewed about. This whole scene is the turning point for Yossarian when he loses the want to fight for his
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