Catch 22 Satire

“There was only one catch, and that was Catch-22” (Heller 46). This quote captures the one reason John Yossarian, a bombardier in the Air Force, is unable to leave the service. Catch-22 has multiple clauses, including that a soldier must follow the orders of his supervisors, and cannot be relieved of duty until he has completed the required number of missions (Heller 58). Moreover, the most prominent problem for Yossarian is that every time he is close to finishing the number of missions he must fly, his supervisors raise the amount that he must complete. As the number of missions is raised, the men begin to cause problems in an attempt to prevent having to fly the missions. The circular nature of this clause shows the absurdities of military

This use of humor is able to make these institutions seem ridiculous to the reader, as explained in the following quote: “The humor of Catch-22 is not the gentle entertainment of comedy but the harsh derision and directed social attack of satire” (Nagel). One example this satire in the military is the two C.I.D. men separately investigating the same problem: someone using the alias Washington Irving while signing documents. The men are oblivious to each others presence and both present multiple unfounded accusations (Heller 95). Furthermore, one of the men even proposes, “Maybe we’re confronted with a gang, with two men working together who just happen to have opposite names… One of them here in the squadron, one of them up at the hospital, one of them with the chaplain…” (Heller 94). This quote is humorous because it shows the incompetency of these military investigators, previously believed to be quick-witted and shrewd. Similarly, the decision to launch this investigation into something so trivial is absurd in itself, contributing to Heller’s direct attack on the military. Another example of the author using humor for criticism of the military is catch-22, the paradoxical catch that prevents Yossarian and the other men from leaving the service. Doc Daneeka explains it, saying, “...You have to follow every order. That’s the catch. So even if

Milo “...takes essential supplies from the planes but says that because everyone has a “share” in his business, it’s for their own good” (Catch-22). This quote only touches the surface of the problem; Milo will take anything he thinks he can make a profit on, from the syrettes of morphine in the medical case to the carbon-dioxide cylinders in the life jackets (Heller 436). This greed for power and wealth causes him to partake in multiple dishonest and deceptive schemes, like stealing and contracting with the enemy, which he claims are for the good of the people. Consequently, he is considered by some to be a “modern reincarnation of Defoe’s economic man,” and justifies his actions in “classical business terms” (Nagel). Throughout the war, M&M Enterprises has the autonomy to fly wherever Milo needs and trade with whomever he wishes, be it an ally or an enemy (Heller 135). This free trade between warring countries eventually leads to Milo’s contracting with the Germans to bomb his own squadron (Heller 105). The main problem with Milo is that he only cares about his wealth; he was the one who came up with the idea to bomb his own squadron and thought nothing of it. Accordingly, citizens everywhere were appalled by this, but only until he opened his books to reveal the profit he made; since everyone owned a share,