Resumo de Catch-22 - Joseph Heller

Catch-22 is a novel so extraordinary and remarkable
that words cannot even describe the sheer magnitude of its brilliance.
Never have I read a novel that was so funny, sad, and thought provoking
all at the same time. Catch-22 is about so many
things. On the surface it may seem like just an anti-war novel. It is
really not about war as we know it. Catch-22 is not about the Americans
fighting against the Germans. It is about the American military
bureaucracy fighting amongst themselves and the men they control. It is
an internal struggle set in the backdrop of war. When one looks deeper
the novel satirizes life during the 1950?s such as the materialism,
Cold War, Red Scare, and all the paranoia. It also shows the craziness
and illogic of life itself and how our bureaucratic organizations
destroy the individual. The novel takes place
during World War II on the fictional island of Pianosa outside Italy at
an American base. The main character is a bombardier named Yossarian.
He used to be patriotic, but after witnessing the gruesome death of his
friend Snowden and realizing that Colonel Cathcart makes the men fly
more missions than all other squadrons, he has turned against the war
and does everything to stay alive. He often fakes being sick and crazy
so he can be in the hospital. At one point he even poisons his own
food. Another time he moves the bomb line so the commanding officers
will think that they bombed a site that they haven?t. Some of these
methods are very funny, but if one looks deeper one can see the tragic
nature of Yosarrian?s existence. He could be killed at any moment and
the military bureaucracy determines his fate. The colonel doesn?t care
about strategy or winning the war. He makes the men fly more missions
so he can be promoted. This is where the title gets its novel.
According to the policy of Catch-22, if Yossarian tells the doctor that
he is crazy he can be grounded and will not have to fly any more
missions. If Yosarrian tells the doctor that he is crazy, than in
reality he is actually sane and will have to fly more missions. It is a
no win situation. Regardless of what Yosarrian does, he will have to
fly as many missions as Colonal Cathcart orders. Yosarrian is the
helpless individual fighting against Colonel Cathcartm, who embodies
the dehumanizing bureaucracy. This illogical situation is one of the
essential points in the novel. It shows the illogic of everyday life
and how we are defendless to make things right. I bet we all have been
in a scenario that did not make any sense that we could not get out of.
Another important aspect of this novel is that it satirizes life during
the Cold War. The fear and paranoia is evident as commanding officers
fight amongst themselves. There is also criticism directed against
Joseph McCarthy. He is a senator who accused government officials of
being communists. He did not have any evidence to back up his
accusations, but because he created widespread panic many respected
officials lost their jobs and were even put in jail. In the novel one
of the commanding officers begins a loyalty oath crusade. He makes
members of the military sign a paper that they are loyal to the US and
not communists. Eventually, the crusade fails. Another instance that
criticizes Joseph McCarthy occurs when Clevinger angers Colonel
Scheisskopf. The colonel puts Clevinger on trial. He is found guilty
and then the colonel looks for something to charge him with it. The
trial is a complete joke. This complete lack of justice was evident
when McCarthy accused people who were condemned for no reason.
Another important aspect of the novel is to show how the insanity of
war contributes to the insanity of everyday life. There is a large
assortment of characters in Catch-22 and most of them are crazy or
unusual in some way. Heller tries to show how war and the harsh
treatment of the military bureaucracy causes this. For example, a mman
Yosarrian shares a tent with names McWatt likes to shoot dead mice and
flies over his tent. Aarfy, who is also one of the Yosarrian?s friends,
has become so despicable that he throws a woman out the window and
shows no remorse for it. Milo Minderbinder has become so greedy that he
schemes his fellow men and sells items on the black market. He even
bombs his own base because the Germans paid him. Major Major resorts to
forging documents and never being in his office because he cannot deal
with people. The women on the streets of Rome resort to prostitution
because this is the only way they can make a living. Most crazy of all
is Colonel Cathcart who continues to volunteer his men for the most
dangerous missions just so he can enhance his reputation. It seems that
Yosarrian is living in an insane world surrounded by people going mad
and his strong will is the only thing keeping him alive.
If one looks deeper one will find more satire and truths about life in
Catch-22. It is a novel that gets better and more complex with each
reading and is as important today as it was when it was written.

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