I have undertaken the task of reading Catch-22, arguably the most notable novel of the twentieth century. I chose this book as a follow-up to my previous read, Unbroken. Author Laura Hillenbrand wrote Unbroken as a biographical piece on war hero Louis Zamperini and author Joseph Heller based Catch-22 on his own war experiences. Both books are set in World War II.
However, Catch-22 is a satirical piece that exposes flaws in the American institutions of religion and war. This satire is evident from the get-go with the introduction to Yossarian, a young man in a military hospital. Doctors will not treat Yossarian’s jaundice because it has manifested enough and at the same time they cannot release him as his jaundice is starting to develop. This is the first example of a “catch-22” utilizing satire to convey the absurdity in medical indecision when one could have received treatment.
I think Catch-22 is beginning to grow my interest in satirical pieces.
Hey Sagnik! You already responded to my post saying you’re reading the same book which is awesome, and I completely agree with you in the aspect that there’s major internal and external strife. The satire you mention in your post is also very prevalent in the story and is a key aspect that demonstrates the author’s point in writing since he is ridiculing war-time behavior. I’ve read Unbroken as well and I can definitely see the strong similarities, at least early on in the book, between Zamperini’s conflict with Watanabe and some of Yossarian’s friends with him. Although Zamperini was in constant strife due to his surroundings in various POW camps, Yossarian’s struggles seem to be internally based due to his distrust for those who aren’t his friends and his feelings regarding others.
Nice title Sagnik! I think your analysis of the book so far is very apt in showing how the book is a satirical novel. However, I do have a question for you, which is how exactly does Catch-22 expose the flaws in the American institution of religion? Maybe I don’t know the answer since I have not read so far, but I am really curious as to what flaws they expose. Also, it would be cool if you told the similarities between Unbroken and Catch-22 in your further blog posts.