#9 Issue: War and the Irreparable Human Need to Survive

Hello and welcome to the ninth issue of A Story for the Week!

The story of the week is Catch-22, a debut novel by the American writer Joseph Heller.

Published in 1961, Catch-22 is a satirical war novel that centers around Captain John Yossarian and his flying squadron located on the island of Pianosa during World War II. The novel was welcomed with mixed reviews (especially in the US), as some critics so diligently proclaimed it to be an unreadable mess. However, this novel, this work of art caught on later, eventually selling 10 million copies just in the US.

This novel has left a remarkable impact on the world literature for two reasons. Firstly, the phrase “Catch-22” today represents a paradoxical situation which, no matter which way you turn it, has no solution. This, naturally, means there are contradictory rules and limitations which prevent you from achieving your goal. The best modern-day example of this is how you need experience to get your first job, but you can’t get any experience without getting your first job. Another reason why Catch-22 is a remarkable piece of art is due to its narration technique. It’s non-chronological, meaning events and chapters aren’t happening in linear manner. On top of that, you get the full picture, and it’s narrated from a third-person perspective and the narrator is omniscient.

As I already mentioned, Catch-22 revolves around the bombardier and pilot Yossarian during World War II who has only one thing on his mind—fly his missions and go home. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? However, his Colonel, Cathcart keeps on raising the number of necessary missions, while the number of troops keeps on diminishing. Each time Yossarian and his friends fly up, they don’t know if they are coming back.

Upon witnessing a number of deaths and realizing the disregard for their lives by the Commanders and Majors, Yossarian tries to find different ways to get released—provocations, insanity, illness, but to no avail because of Catch-22. If you feel like you’re going mad, you must report that immediately and you’ll be grounded. But no normal man would want to fly more missions, and that meant you’re just normal. And so, no matter what Yossarian did, he had to fly those missions.

I won’t reveal the end to you, but I can tell you that Catch-22 is far more than just a war novel. It, of course, includes elaborate war scenes, but there are also amazing comedic and satiric bits that, at moments, seem all too painfully real. Besides that, there are some heart-breaking moments that will make you question humanity and war, and remind you why war is just an unnecessary display of evil. There’s no logic or philosophy in this world which could justify this cruelty. I have to warn you, some scenes are quite graphic and this is not a read for the weak-hearted.

What really amazes me about Catch-22 is the fact it’s a war novel, but you only experience the inhumanity and the brutality of war only at the very end of the novel. And even then, you don’t want to see it, feel it, just like Yossarian. Because, by the end of the novel, you’re seeing war through his eyes and it’s just all too painful.

Unlike some other reads I recommended, Catch-22 is a bit harder read. Not only because of the themes, but also because of the non-chronological narration which is tossing you around in time. However, Heller has carefully devised the plot, and all plotlines neatly align later on. As soon as you learn the ropes of the story, it will almost be effortless to keep up with the plot.

I’ve been going on and on about the atrocities of war in Catch-22, but bear in mind that it isn’t all that gloomy. There are some incredibly fun and witty chapters that will make you laugh out loud. One of my favorite bits is Clevinger’s trial. In this section, aid cadet Clevinger is on trial for numerous silly charges, and this whole chapter feels as if it’s a Kafkaesque satire.

All in all, Catch-22 is a satirical war novel which demands your undivided attention, but as soon as you get into it, as soon as you meet Yossarian, Milo, Doc Daneeka, Major Major Major Major, and you get a grip on the plot and different timelines, you’ll be hooked.

This time around, I’ll conclude with one of my favorite paragraphs from Catch-22:

“I'm cold,' Snowden whimpered. 'I'm cold.'

'There, there,' Yossarian mumbled mechanically in a voice too low to be heard. 'There, there.'

Yossarian was cold, too, and shivering uncontrollably. He felt goose pimples clacking all over him as he gazed down despondently at the grim secret Snowden had spilled all over the messy floor. It was easy to read the message in his entrails. Man was matter, that was Snowden's secret. Drop him out a window and he'll fall. Set fire to him and he'll burn. Bury him and he'll rot, like other kinds of garbage. The spirit gone, man is garbage. That was Snowden's secret. Ripeness was all.”

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