Free Catch-22 Essays: A War Comedy :: Catch-22

Catch-22 - A Comedy The novel, Catch-22, is a comedy about soldiers during World War II. However, this comic scenes and phrases ar quite tragic when they are thought about, as most things related to war are, which makes this comedy completely absurd. The best way to represent this idea is by dint of the characters in the book, specifically, Yossarian, Huple, and Natelys whores kid sister and the events that occur with their thoughts and their actions. Clearly, the main character and one whose life is chiefly described, is Yossarian. Yossarian has a slightly down in the mouth sense of humor and way of looking at things. In the first chapter, Heller tells us that garner sent by the soldiers had to be reviewed in effect to prevent any secret information going out to the public, or, even worse, to the enemy. Yossarian, from lack of anything better to do, censors all the letters. Sometimes he crosses out everything but a, an and the, sometimes adjectives, whatever he feels like tha t day. For his final gag he signs these letters as Washington Irving to totally confuse the readers of these letters. This is funny, however it is ultimately tragic. These are the letters that every wife, mother and daughter runs to the mailbox for in order to see that their husbands, fathers and sons are all right. This is a letter that could say Honey, Im sexual climax home, or I love you. When I come home I want to marry you. These letters could change the whole lifestyle of so many people and Yossarian alone is tampering with them. The absurdity of that is immense. A gag of slightly higher consequence occurred in Chapter 12, when Yossarian decided to move the bomb boundary over Bologna. What I believe is the most ridiculous in the whole process was his reason for doing it. Everyone did not want to go on this mission to contract Bologna. They prayed the rain would never go away, or that the bomb line would mysteriously move, anything just mot to go on this mission. Clevinger, in disbelief at the tomfoolery of these men, tells Yossarian They really believe that we wouldnt have to fly that mission tomorrow if someone would only tiptoe up to the map in the middle of the wickedness and move the bomb line over Bologna. Can you imagine? So Yossarian figures Why not?