Questions tagged [catch-22]
For questions about Catch 22, the novel by Joseph Heller. Use in conjunction with [joseph-heller].
15
questions
1
vote
1
answer
139
views
How many copies of Catch-22 had been sold by 2019?
According to the Wikipedia article about Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22,
As of 2019 ten million copies have been sold.[citation needed]
The statement has no source. A search for more information ...
- 43.8k
4
votes
0
answers
136
views
Who is Yossarian's pal?
In Catch-22, Chapter 41 ("Snowden"), Yossarian is under medical care after an attempt on his life. He's apparently fading in and out of consiousness at this point:
Yossarian vomited, and Colonel ...
- 141
2
votes
0
answers
175
views
Could T.S. Eliot's namedrop early on in Catch-22 be a play on The Wasteland
Both pieces of work are reactions to post-war trauma, but unlike The Wasteland, which aims to put back together the fragments of Western Literature, fractured by The Great War, and sees the grand ...
- 31
11
votes
2
answers
13k
views
In what sense did Yossarian love the chaplain?
It's been a while since I finished Catch-22. But when I first read it, I remember the opening jumping out at me:
It was love at first sight.
The first time Yossarian saw the chaplain he fell ...
- 213
2
votes
1
answer
3k
views
What's the significance of the T. S. Eliot reference in Catch-22?
"It takes brains not to make money," Colonel Cargill wrote in one of the homiletic memoranda he regularly prepared for circulation over General Peckem's signature. "Any fool can make money these days ...
13
votes
1
answer
508
views
Did Heller base his sarcastic swipe at academia on any actual example?
In chapter 1 of Catch 22, Yossarian describes how he makes a boring task (censoring letters) interesting by erecting "dynamic intralinear tensions":
All the officer patients in the ward were forced ...
- 396
4
votes
0
answers
209
views
To what extent was Catch-22 inspired by "The Trial"?
Bureaucratic logic is one of the primary themes in Catch-22. To what extent is this inspired by The Trial by Franz Kafka? Both have the sense of being caught in the cogs of a remote, irrational, and ...
4
votes
2
answers
861
views
Why did Dunbar consider a life of intentional boredom worth living?
In Catch-22, Dunbar would routinely cultivate boredom in an effort to extend his life. Why did he consider that worthwhile? Why did he want a long but boring life?
1
vote
1
answer
2k
views
Why did Yossarian and Major Major consider "Irving Washington" less monotonous to sign?
Related: Why did Yossarian sign letters with "Washington Irving"?
Both Major Major and Yossarian would routinely sign official documents and censorship documents with "Washington Irving" (I ...
3
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Why did Yossarian sign letters with "Washington Irving"?
When he's in the hospital and is forced to censor letters, Yossarian signed his "name" as "Washington Irving." Later in the book, Major Major does the same thing on official documents. What's the ...
2
votes
1
answer
752
views
Why Catch-22 if there was only one catch?
Catch-22 contains the following quote:
There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the ...
4
votes
1
answer
739
views
Did Joseph Heller invent this particular use of the verb "to disappear" in Catch-22 or merely popularize it?
When Nurse Duckett informed Yossarian in Catch-22 that the Brass was planning to "disappear" Dunbar, Yossarian replied that "It doesn't make sense. It isn't even good grammar. What the hell does it ...
5
votes
0
answers
256
views
Why were Colonel Cathcart and Colonel Korn so determined to undermine each other?
In Catch-22, both Colonel Cathcart and Colonel Korn seem bound and determined to undermine each other. I know both of them are desperately trying to get promoted (to the point of doing absolutely ...
9
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Is there any significance to Major Major being a Henry Fonda lookalike?
One of the big jokes in Catch-22 is Major Major's striking resemblance to Henry Fonda. Why did Joseph Heller choose Henry Fonda in particular? Is there any significance to the choice, or was it a ...
8
votes
1
answer
381
views
Are there any internal inconsistencies in Catch 22?
Because of Catch 22's twisted timeline, while reading it, several times I had the distinct impression that what seemed to have happened so far in the past was different from what apparently happened ...
- 6,802