Overview of the Military Novel 'Catch 22'
Have you ever wondered why people write books? Some write for fun, while many others want people to learn the truth. 'Catch-22,' by Joseph Heller, depicts what war does to the average human. Soldiers knew they were signing their death wish if they act sane, and didn’t want to go to war. This is because of Catch-22.
A simple googled definition of the term, 'Catch-22,' is defined as “a dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions.” Yossarian boils down what Heller wanted to show the audience, that war is a necessary commodity, by captivating the true horrors of war. Heller's novel of a World War II bomber, Yossarian, who has to experience first hand the tragedies of war. He has to fly over 50 bombing missions, and the number keeps climbing every time he flies a new one. According to Elon University, Heller's novel was banned in the town of Strongsville, Ohio in 1972 because of language in the novel that was viewed by some as vulgar. Also, prostitution is heavily seen throughout the book. Heller didn’t want to sugar coat anything, and only pointed out what actually happens during war. The ban was later removed in 1976.
The LA Times agrees with me that the value of Catch-22 outweighs the controversy by a mile. Simply wanting to ridicule a novel just because of indecent language, isn’t logical and rational. Banning something just because people find it offensive, doesn’t educate, or benefit anyone. A journalist for the LA Times, Ron Rosenbaum stated, “If people know what horrors come from a national dispute, they would think twice about favoring going to war. They would consider what soldiers have to go through mentally, and physically in order to defend America’s freedom.” Now it’s not only what the soldiers are going through physically and mentally, but what Heller wanted the audience to learn from this novel. That the decisions people have to make affect the lives of others. In WW2 this was the case for all the soldiers who were drafted to fight on the front lines. Joseph Heller the author, was in the Italian front of WWII and knew what happens during war.
Overall Heller brought the problems of the front lines into the media via the publication of 'Catch-22,' Some things you can’t Meryl whisk away from memory. Often, troops would return to base with dementia because of the sight of people dying. Imagine you were ordered to the front lines during WW2 and saw a close friend get gunned down by a sniper that he didn’t even see. Having an arm or leg blown off by a grenade, only having a few milligrams of morphine to numb the pain. Heller depicted the tragedies of war. He wanted to show people that Freedom comes at a heavy price. Over 425,000 Allied and German troops were killed, wounded or went missing during the Battle of Normandy. That isn’t counting civilian casualties. Heller wanted to expose the truth behind America’s Freedom.
