Essay on Satire and Black Humor in Catch-22 -- Catch-22 Essays

Satire and Black Humor in Catch-22 The only thing going on was a war, and no one seemed to notice but Yossarian and Dunbar. Yossarian is one of the few normal characters found in the books, or at least he thinks he is. As the story progresses, it appears that no one is normal. Values either no longer apply, or do in reverse. In this backwards world of Catch-22, where e veryone is crazy, Heller uses non-white humor and satire to make light of an otherwise dismal situation. Satire in the book mainly attacks three general things senior military officers, professed(prenominal) and business interests, and societys remarkable reliance on forms, papers, rules and regulations. The senior officers are generally trying to intimidate and persecute the soldiers, most obviously by raising the reduce of missions, endangering the mens lives even more (Young 2). They are very selfish and ease up warped ideas about what they can do and what they can make the squadron do. They only do what the y have been told to do, and have very few if any original thoughts. General Dreedle, for example, tries to have Danby shot for moaning during a mission briefing while in his presence. another(prenominal) example of their warped beliefs is when Lieutenant Schisskopf comes up with the idea that they could stick pegs into each mans thighs and hook them together with copper wire so that the men would march better. master Black starts the Loyalty Oath Crusade, in which the men have to sign loyalty oaths for practically every task they need to perform throughout the day. They have to sign oaths to get their map cases, obtaining flak suits, being driven to their planes, and even eat or get their hair cut. His theory is that the more loyalty oaths the men sign, th... ...found in all parts of the book, they play crucial roles in making Catch-22 more enjoyable to read, and depicting the conditions felt by soldiers. Without the humor, it seems like a very disturbing and depressing tale. The characters are crazy, but we do get a good laugh at their expense. Catch-22 can be interpreted in umteen different ways though. What may be humorous to one person may be disturbing to another. Like any book, there is no handle interpretation. Works Cited Heller, Joseph. Catch 22. New York Simon & Schuster Inc., 1989. Merrill, Robert. Joseph Heller. Boston Twayne Publishers, 1987. Young, Robert M. Deadly Unconscious Logics in Joseph Hellers Catch-22. <http//www.human-nature.com/rmyoung/papers/des3.html> Magill, Frank N. Catch-22. Masterplots. Englewood Cliffs, NJ Salem Press, 1976.