HAHA....I don't get it.

As of right now, I am really enjoying Catch-22. It is absolutely hilarious, but in that “intellectual I have to go back a re-read that sentence to fully get the joke” kind of way. The book’s hilarity lies in the sarcastic tone in which Joseph Heller describes the horrors of war. Nothing is safe from his dark humor,

I will admit, the book was a little difficult to get into. Yossarian, Dunbar, Clevinger, Orr, and all of the others appear to make little sense and talk about seemingly random things; however, after reading more, I began to realize that Heller discusses events from multiple perspectives. For example, the Glorious Loyalty Oath Crusade that is mentioned in passing at the beginning of the book is not fully explained until Chapter 11. Additionally, there are so many characters that it is hard to keep them all straight. Everyone is a Colonel or a Major or has such a small role when first mentioned that I forget all about him by the time he appears later on in the book.

The story is focused on the bombardier Yossarian, a man who is constantly trying to get out of flying his never-ending number of missions. He is one of the only characters who questions the hierarchy of the military, the arbitrary nature of command, and the ridiculousness of war. During one of his vain attempts to get out of flying, Major Major asks him if he would like to see his country lose the war. Yossarian replies, “We won’t lose. We’ve got more men, more money and more material. There are ten million men in uniform who could replace me. Some people are getting killed and a lot more are making money and having fun. Let somebody else get killed” (103). His observations can come across as joking (although not so much in this example) but give depth to the story.

It is Heller’s astute observations that give a dark edge to his humor. His descriptions of the characters such as Major Major Major Major who “had a difficult time from the start” (82) literally had me laughing out loud as I read the book. Heller’s humor can be very telling, however. For example, when, before the “Bologna incident,” Dr. Stubbs says, “I used to get a big kick out of saving people’s lives. Now I wonder what the hell’s the point, since they all have to die anyway” (109). In the context of the up-beat conversation, the comment is slightly funny but speaks of the cruel realities of war.

And then there’s the issues of “Catch-22,” a contradiction that prevents men from ever leaving the army. Yossarian describes it simply by saying, “That’s some catch, that Catch-22” (46). The confusing paradox speaks to the twisted and misleading nature of the army administration itself. The army administration is embodied in Colonel Cathcart, the man who arbitrarily increases the number of flights each bombardier must go on and who appoints Major Major to squadron commander and forces him into the life of a recluse. In other words, Cathcart is “the man.”

The true essence of Catch-22 comes from Heller’s satiric sense of humor. The irony with which he approaches all aspects of the book allows him to effectively criticize the mechanisms of war through a fast-paced story. I don’t think I’ll have any trouble getting through the book, as long as I find a way to keep all of the characters straight. (577)