At this point in the novel, which is Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, the book is interesting because of the unusual amount of satire it has to try to expose the human spirit and provide a contrarian opinion to the general consensus that people fight war for their country rather than just trying to save themselves and avoid being a victim. For my upcoming literary analysis paper, I would like to explore the role satire plays overall throughout the novel rather than at specific points, and look at whether there are definite reasons to why the author employs this technique to complement his writing. A profound quote that represents the main character’s world view, who is Yossarian, is “They’re trying to kill me”, in which he says it in a calm manner during a fight. This serves as a proxy of his view on war because he believes that other people are trying to kill him and shrugs off counterarguments that refute that he personally is not being targeted. This conclusion can be deduced early on in the book so the audience can be prepared for the actions that follow Yossarian’s view.
A particular disagreement I have with this book is that it is excessively sarcastic in its implied critique of traditional war stories and the glorification they sometimes have. While the view of war held by the common populace – where the prospect of war was celebrated – at the time before World War 1 was proven incorrect, I still believe soldiers still want to genuinely fight for their country. Even though Yossarian is a solitary character, Heller uses that to serve as a proxy to what most soldiers think and behave in wars and conflicts in general. However, I do agree with Heller’s main point that soldiers do not typically have an urge to go into faraway lands to bomb peoples they do not know.
A picture of the book:
Hello Suraj! As you are already aware, I am also reading Catch-22. I was delighted to learn that you want analyze the the role of satire in the novel. This is because I had considered including a similar commentary about satire in my most recent post. In my most recent post, I too bring up Yossarian’s “They’re trying to kill me” mindset. The only difference being that I explore Yossarian’s purpose and reliability as the narrator through the perspective of his supposed paranoia.
Thank you for sharing, Suraj. Do you notice something interesting about the structure of the narrative? There are many different stories that come together, adding up to the central story. This is kind of a “shotgun effect” where the structure itself symbolizes the very story it is portraying. See if you notice this as you continue to read!