Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

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Recommended: Essay the impact of war on literature and society

History teaches us that war and hate begin when governments believe that the price of aggression is cheap. War is an iniquitous entity, which affects not only those who are involved but also those who support it. Both Catch-22, by Joseph Heller, and the movie, The Bridge on the River Kwai are anti-war in their philosophy. However, the comic novel takes a different path from the tragic path of the film. The novel and movie incorporate similar themes and characterizations of certain characters in order to express the anti-war philosophy. However, other aspects of the novel and movie, such as the idea of insanity and the introduction of the commanding officers, illustrate many clear differences between the movie and novel. These similarities and differences, in the way how both the novel and movie promote the anti-war philosophy, help us to broaden our understanding of the mentality of military officials during war and how war either corrupted, murdered or displaced the mental stability of soldiers and their commanding officers.

Catch-22 and The Bridge on the River Kwai share common themes, such as ambition, anti-war, and the concept of Catch-22. In Catch-22, the officers in Colonel Cathcart's squadron are in a Catch-22 situation because Colonel Cathcart's fad ambition to become general and to impress his superiors, influences him to consistently raise the number of missions required for each officer to fly. This prevents any officer from Colonel Cathcart's squadron from ever escaping the evil clutches of the military life. Similarly in The Bridge on the River Kwai, Commander Shears is in a Catch-22 situation because he is forced to either participate in the sabotage of the bridge with Major Warden or have his felony exposed to...

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... in his pursuit to live. Lieutenant Joyce is similar to Clevinger and Nately from the novel because they are patriotic, loyal and eager to fight despite having rudimentary skills. However, one significant difference is that Joyce is shier than Clevinger and Nately because Joyce is more hesistant to express his opinion in front his commanding officers than compared to Clevinger and Nately who openly confess their opinions to Yossarian.

In conclusion, despite some minor differences Catch-22 and The Bridge on the River Kwai share common themes in ambition, anti-war philosophy, corruption and the concept of Catch-22. In both of these stories, the enlisted men are subject to the senseless will of their commanding officers, and often suffered as a result. War doesn't only affect the officers involved in both stories but they also affect those who inanely support it.

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