Resumo de Catch 22 - Joesph Heller

Catch 22 is an extraordinary and remarkable novel words can?t describe the complete magnitude of its brilliance.
The novel is not about what me may initially expect from a cursory glance, it soon becomes clear that the novel is virulently anti-war, and not war, as we know it.
Catch 22 is not about the Americans who fight against Germans. It is about fighting the American military, bureaucracy, and the men that they control. Though it is set during the war the novel also satirizes other aspects of life after the war during the 1950?s such as materialism, the Cold war and Communism and all the paranoia which this entailed. The novel also shows the madness and lack of logic in treating everyone the same and how bureaucratic organisations are destroying our individuality.
The novel is set during World War II on the island of Pianosa on an American airbase.
The main character is Yossairan who is a member of a bomber crew. He used to consider himself a patriot but after a series of events such as the horrible death of his friend. He also grows to despise Colonel Cathcart who makes his men fly the mission. Yossarians only aim now is to survive the war and is no longer cares achieving his countries aims.
Yossarian often pretends that he is mentally or physically ill in the hope that he is transferred to the hospital. At various times he has poisoned his own food or falsifies information so that officials believe that they have bombed a site that has been left untouched. His methods may not appear very noble, but on a deeper level one can see the tragic nature of his existence, at any time military man who determine his destiny could kill him. The colonel in charge does not have an interest in strategy or winning the war. The men fly the missions in the hope that he may get promoted.
The title of the book refers to a policy, which states that if a person is mentally unsound then that person may be grounded and will not have to fly any more missions. However if Yossarian says to the doctor that he is crazy then it must mean that he is sane, it is a no win situation.
Yossarian is not able to get out of the situation so has to fly more mission for Colonel Cathcart. Yossarian is portrayed as the impotent individual fighting against the faceless, dehumanised bureaucracy.
Another important aspect of this book is its satirisation of the Cold War. The fear and paranoia are evident when officials are seen to be fighting one another. Heller is also critical of Joseph McCarthy, a senator who accused many civil servants of supporting or being actively involved with Communism. Little evidence was produced by McCarthy to support his claims but his accusations spread panic amongst the civil servants many of who lost their jobs or were put in jail.
These actions are satirised in incidents such as declarations of loyalty the men are supposed to make and the mockery of the Clevinger trial
There is a great assortment of characters in Catch 22, the majority of whom or crazy in one way or another, in a way this shows how the madness of the war is reflected in the madness of daily life.
Heller tries to show how the contempt with which its treats its own men changes them into increasingly undesirable people. For example the man Aarfy has become so twisted that when he throws a woman out of the window he shows no remorse for it.
Another character Milo Minderbinder has become so greedy by the spoils of war that he steals from his fellow soldiers and sells the items on the black market. Eventually he even organises the bombing of his own base because the Germans paid him.
It is a crazy world; you have Colonel Cathcart who continues to offer his own men for more dangerous missions just so he can increase his own reputation. Yosarrian lives in a crazy world surrounded by people, the only sane thought that is left is the one that drives him to stay alive.
One needs to look deeper at this book to locate the satire and uncover tthe truths it is trying to reveal. As such it is a novel that improves with each reading, and its message is as important today as when it was written.

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