Catch-22: An Analysis

Throughout Catch-22, the mood progresses from humorous and comical, to serious, sad, and depressing. The author starts the book in a light, sarcastic, and funny mood. However, as the novel advances, black comedy is used frequently, and the mood becomes gloomier. Colonel Cathcart requires them to complete more and more missions, and Yossarian sees his friends die, one by one. Additionally, scenes that were alluded to with humor early on are described in more depth, depicting horrific and gloomy details. For example, Snowden's death was mentioned early in the novel many times, but later on, the tragedy was described in great detail.

One major theme in Catch-22 is that the human body is not immortal. Death will occur at one point or another, and there is an innumerable amount of causes that could bring it about. Yossarian realizes this on his mission over Avignon, after Snowden was injured. Yossarian tries to save him, yet he is unable to do so. He witnesses Snowden slow death, and can't do anything to help, except say, “there, there.” The fact that there is nothing Yossarian could do to keep him from dying shows Yossarian that death is unavoidable. Realizing this, he makes the decision to prolong life as long as possible, and at all costs. He begins to see danger lurking around every corner, and is afraid to fly any more missions, realizing the risk involved in flying them. As more and more of his friends are killed in combat, he reasons that the next mission he flies could be his last, so he refuses to fly anymore. He realizes how precious his life is, and feels that it's a miracle that he's survived as long as he has.

Throughout Catch-22, the narrator's attitude towards women is that they are only for sex, and that they are inferior to men. Not only is almost every woman in this novel is a prostitute, but also the way the men act towards them is very degrading. At one point, Yossarian remarks, “Women are crazy.” (Chapter 28, page 315) Furthermore, Orr asks, “Did you ever screw Nately's girl?” and also, “Did you ever screw my girl?” (Chapter 28, pg 314) The way those two questions are worded implies that the two girls are merely possessions, rather than individuals. Moreover, when discussing Yossarian's new roommates, the author writes, “They were worse than women,” (Chapter 32, pg 347) which is obviously demeaning of them. Finally, Nately says to his girl friend, “Don't argue with me, I'm the man and you have to do whatever I say.” (Chapter 33, pg 356) This statement suggests that men are superior women, and that women must obey them.

Another major theme in this novel is the difference between sanity and insanity. Throughout the novel, people constantly are calling each other crazy and insane. Most people in Yossarian's squadron believe that he and Orr are the craziest ones there, for separate reasons. Yossarian is believed to be crazy because he is petrified of flying missions, and because he thinks everyone is trying to kill him. Orr, on the other hand, is considered insane because his plane has been shot down during almost every mission, yet he still flies. However it seems that they, out of everyone, have the clearest view of the absurdities of both the war and the bureaucracy. Unlike the people who call them crazy, they both understand the dangers of war, and try to escape from them. As Yossarian sees it, the people who truly are insane are the men who continue to go to combat and put their own lives at risk.

The tone throughout Catch-22 is wry, sarcastic, and very satirical. One example of the satire in the novel is when Yossarian's bomb squadron is ordered to bomb a tiny, peaceful, undefended village, reducing the whole community to rubble without warning them first. The “reason” they have to do this is to “knock the whole village sliding down the side of the mountain and create a roadblock that the Germans will have to clear.” (Chapter 29, pg 325) This ridiculous mission would cause many deaths, and it is completely unnecessary. Right during the briefing, Colonal Korn even admits that they don't care about the roadblock, as long as the bombs are placed close together, in order to look nice in a photograph.

A second example of the satire in Catch-22 is when the chaplain is being interrogated in the cellar. The officer states, “We accuse you also of the commission of crimes and infractions we don't even know about yet. Guilty or innocent?” (Chapter 36, pg 386) The chaplain responds, “I don't know,sir. How can I say if you don't tell me what they are first?” (Chapter 36, pg 386) Then, they suddenly mark him down as guilty, without any evidence whatsoever to back up their absurd accusation. A final example of Joseph Heller's satirical tone is when Doc Daneeka gets reported as being killed. He is marked down as “dead” because he's on the flight roster of the crashed plane, even though he is clearly living all the while. He even goes to the Gus and Wes to get his temperature taken, and they say, “You're dead, sir... That's probably the reason you always feel so cold.” (Chapter 31, pg 341) Also, Sergeant Towser was heavy hearted, because of “Doc Daneeka, the new dead man in the squadron, who most certainly was there and gave every indication of proving a still thornier administrative problem for him.” (Chapter 31, pg 340) The fact that Doc Daneeka is still obviously living, and yet everyone is acting as if he's dead, is completely ridiculous and very satirical.