Characterization

Yossarian has pointed out multiple times that he hates the war, and has done whatever possible to get out of it, not limited to faking injuries and pretending to be crazy. But there's one particular scene where it's implied that he might actually be insane. In chapter 28, Yossarian is having a conversation with Orr about why a whore was beating him with her shoe. While Orr is talking, Yossarian gets angry and imagines killing him to calm himself down. "As soon as he thought of stabbing Orr, his tension eased," (333). This line in itself is disturbing in nature because it shows just how used to killing he is now that he has to think of it to relieve his tension. The environment he's in has made him almost bloodthirsty, and he seems to be rather apathetic about it.

In chapter 23, Nately is at a bar with his friends staring at an old man, who for some reason reminds him of his father. "This sordid, vulturous, diabolical old man reminded Nately of his father because the two were nothing at all alike," (260). Nately then goes on to explain the differences between the two men and how they are opposites, but yet somehow, the old man reminds him of his dad. This could imply that Nately has some resentment or unresolved negative feelings towards his father and is indenial about the kind of person he was. 

Structure and POV

Unlike most books, this one isn't in chronological order. It is mostly consisted of memories and flashbacks that all intersect each other and take place at different times. Snowden's death is referenced multiple times and we are even shown little bits and pieces of the actual event, but it's not fully revealed what his "secret" was until the 2nd to last chapter. This death has been significant because it was clearly traumatizing for Yossarian which is why he can't seem to move past it. It seems his biggest fear throughout is ending up just like him, which is why he will do whatever possible to live, although it makes him seem like a coward. It's from omniscient POV because we're looking at the situation from an objective mindset. We're following all the characters thoughts, although everything ties back to Yossarian. "'Then help him, help him,' Dobbs begged. 'Help him, help him.' And Snowden lay dying in back." This was a flashback to the time of Snowden's death, and this flashback pops up again about 2 or 3 more times, with a little more revealed each time, until finally the climax in the 2nd to last chapter when the nature of his death was shown.

Themes and Author's Purpose

I'm on page 104, and I've stumbled across something in particular that has been redundantly appearing throughout the entire book. "One day--it was the day after the C.I.D. man's first visit --Major Major signed Washington Irving's name to one of the documents instead of his own, just to see how it would feel," (104). The forgery of Washington Irving's name has been a recurring theme. It first started when Yossarian forged his name while he was in the hospital in chapter 1, and it continues throughout as the Chaplain is consistently accused of being the one to commit the forgery all the way up until the end. It's pure coincidence that Major Major and Yossarian both decided to forge the same name and the Chaplain later takes the fall.

It was unclear just what the point of this book was until the end. It wasn't until the death of Snowden was finally revealed that I got it. "It was easy to read the message in his entails. Man was matter, that was Snowden's secret. Drop him out a window and he'll fall. Set fire to him and he'll burn. Bury him and he'll rot, like other kinds of garbage. The spirit gone, man is garbage. That was Snowden's secret. Ripeness was all," (464). Never take life for granted. That was the message I got from this. Despite the fact that this is a book about war, all the deaths were unexpected and shocking in the worst way. Yossarian didn't realize just how serious his situation was until Snowden's death, and it continues to haunt him all throughout the book. The very last thing Yossarian does before the book ends is ditch the army because he would rather do that than betray his comrades, the people he grew to love. Yossarian's will to live is a recurring theme and ties back to Snowden's death. You never know when you will die, and you don't know what will happen afterwards, so enjoy it while it lasts. 

Tone and Diction

Tone- The book has had some humerous and ridiculous qualities up to this point. However, the tone is not particularly a pleasant one. "And this dead one was really unknown , even though his belongings still lay in a tumble on the cot in Yossarian's tent almost exactly as he ahd left them three months earlier the day he never arrived--all contaminated with death less than two hours later, in the same way that all was contaminated with death in the very next week during the Great Big Siege of Bologna when the moldy odor of mortality hung wet in the air with the sulphurous fog and every man scheduled to fly was already tainted" (120). This has all sorts of negative connotation, and is pretty morbid. It's a reminder that war is terrible and gruesome. Yossarian is so used to death by this point that he can smell it after 2 hours and is able to live with it casually. It could serve as a grim reminder to himself as to where he is and what exactly he's doing.

Diction- Heller seems to use some pretty advanced diction and tends to enjoy using multiple synonyms of the same word in one sentence. "She would have been perfect for Yossarian, a debauched, coarse, vulgar, amoral, appetizing slattern whom he had longed for and idolized for months," (168). He's using different variations of the same word to emphasize just what kind of people both Yossarian and this girl are. He's automatically grasping my attention so that I would make no mistake with interpreting this character.

Literary Devices.

Paradox- I am on page 54 of Catch-22 by Joseph Heller where Yossarian is discussing getting grounded so that he may leave the war. "There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions," (54). This is a contradictory statement because he could only be grounded if he was crazy, but if he stated he was crazy, he couldn't be grounded because anyone with a rational thought process would request to be grounded. In a way, there really was no way to be grounded, so the rules contradict themselves.

Pun- Page 70 and a new character has been introduced. I find his name incredibly amusing and ironic at the same time. "Corporal Snark was an intellectual snob who felt he was 20 years ahead of his time and did not enjoy cooking down to the masses," (70). I found this ironic because the dictionary definition of the word snark is "snide and sharply critical comments", and Corporal Snark is a rather judgmental, snobbish person, thereby living up to his name.

Irony- "'Since we weren't going to let him sign loyalty oaths anyway, it doesn't really matter whether we have them or not.'" I actually face-palmed at this part, not gonna lie. He made everyone go to the effort of saying the pledge of allegiance every day, singing the national anthem, and signing loyalty oaths to prove that since Major Major didn't do it, he wasn't a loyal soldier, but Major Major couldn't because Captain Black wouldn't allow him to. So why did he make everyone else go through all that effort when Major Major was forbidden from doing the same thing anyway?