4/23/14

Two other important symbols are the soldier in white and the photographs taken of the war. The soldier in white at the beginning of Catch-22 is able to show how dispensable and unvalued the soldiers are during the war. They can be replaced in no time and the leaders don't care to just simply move on to the next man to dispose of. The photographs help signify the inhumanity many people showed during the war. Yossarian and others in his squadron were sent to bomb and destroy places just to create the perfect explosion for pictures or to clear out objects for better pictures.

4/21/14

Symbols are also important in the novel, one of those are the chocolate covered cotton. Yossarian and Milo decide to cover cotton in chocolate and sell it to people. This represents how appearances can be different than what is truly shown and helps portray the idea of a tyrannical military control.

4/20/14

One thing that reoccurs throughout Catch-22 is the number of missions that the pilot is assigned. Everytime a pilot thinks they are close to coming home, their missions are being raised and they have to continue to fly. And everytime a pilot feels one step closer to death. Missions are important because they tie into the themes of inevitable death and the complete control of the military over it's men. Every mission assigned gives them the chance to die and the chance to never turn down a mission. Missions are like a trap that nobody in the squadron is able to escape because there is always a catch.

4/16/14

Death is something the men in the squadron can't avoid. If they are not dying then they are witnessing someone die, if they are not brutally injured they are witnessing someone being brutally injured. Yossarian knows how his life is far from being indestructible and learns to value it more because of his situation. He learns to love people and to enjoy even the smallest things in his life. In war and in life Yossarian learns that there will always be a catch.

4/15/14

One important theme in Catch-22 is the power the military has over men who are enlisted. They control men to every extent. They control when they go home, when they fly, where they fly too, where they sleep, and can even control when they leave this world. No matter what a man feels during their assignment they are required to do what they are told whether they know they will live through it or not.

4/12/14

One important concept portrayed in Catch-22 is the millitary causing men to lose thier faith in God. In the novel, even the chaplain who is to keep his faith through whatever happens begins to question the idea of God when he sees horrific things during his time served in the war. Even Yossarian is an atheist who says God is nothing but a "bumbling fool." Even with the men losing their faith in God they still have the morals that they created individually to keep themselves true through their time served in the war.

4/11/14

Yossarian is a very complex character that has internal conflicts, as well as external.  Throughout the book his main concern is only surviving the war, but he feels remorse for other men in his squadron and actually gets upset when they die.  Yossarian wants to be part of the squadron and is well liked, but all of the men look at him as insane and unstable.  Yossarian creates his own Catch 22 when he doesn't save himself over others when he has the chance too. Your life is important, but so is the moral imperative to save other men.