Millstone Education:
World Literature

There are a lot of war novels in print. Catch-22 is one the better known modern ones. What follows is a conversation between two men, Dr. Daneeka and Yossarian. Yossarian is a pilot and he wants the Doctor to ground him so he does not have to fly combat missions. Here is their conversation:

"Can't you ground someone who's crazy?"

"Oh, sure. I have to. There's a rule saying I have to ground anyone who's crazy."

"Then why don't you ground me? I'm crazy. Ask Clevinger."

"Clevinger? Where is Clevinger? You find Clevinger and I'll ask him."

"Then ask any of the others. They'll tell you how crazy I am."

"They're crazy."

"Then why don't you ground them?"

"Why don't they ask me to ground them?"

"Because they're crazy, that's why."

"Of course they're crazy," Doc Daneeka replied. "I just told you they're crazy, didn't I? And you can't let crazy people decide whether you're crazy or not, can you?"

Yossarian looked at him soberly and tried another approach. "Is Orr crazy?"

"He sure is," Doc Daneeka said.

"Can you ground him?"

"I sure can. But first he has to ask me to. That's part of the rule."

Then why doesn't he ask you to?"

"Because he's crazy," Doc Daneeka said. "He has to be crazy to keep flying combat missions after all the close calls he's had. Sure, I can ground Orr. But first he has to ask me to."

"That's all he has to do to be grounded?"

"That's all. Let him ask me."

"And then you can ground him?" Yossarian asked.

"No. Then I can't ground him."

"You mean there's a catch?"

"Sure there's a catch," Doc Daneeka replied. "Catch-22. Anyone who wants to get out of combat duty isn't really crazy."

There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.

"That's some catch, that Catch-22," he observed.

"It's the best there is," Dr. Daneeka agreed."

Catch-22 is an anti-war novel and presents war as absurd. It was first published in 1961. It's satire. The novel is powerful enough that the title has become part of the English language. A "catch-22" is defined in The American Heritage Dictionary as, "A situation in which a desired outcome or solution is impossible to attain because of a set of inherently illogical rules or conditions" or "A situation or predicament characterized by absurdity or senselessness."

This is one of the many great books that you might want to put on your list of books to read in the future. It's fairly long—almost 500 pages in my paperback edition. Ahhh, so many books, so little time.

Regards,

Mr. Draeger

Source:

Heller, Joseph, Catch-22, Dell Publishing Co., Inc., New York, 1982, pp. 46-47.

Millstone Education:World Literature

Quote from Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Millstone Education:
World Literature

Quote from
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller