Crisis of Conscience Essays -- Literary Analysis, Joseph Heller

In Catch-22, Joseph ogre creates a surreal world of irrationality to illuminate madness and putridness. by means of the satirical characterizations of the novels leaders, ogre criticizes not just the institution of war notwithstanding all forms of bureaucratic establishment. The authority figures in the novel are visualized as selfish and deranged maniacs without any grit of morality, driven purely by their desires to expand their power and reputations. These leaders are able to skew reason to their benefits through their followers acceptance of conformity and conventions. The novels protagonist, Yossarian, however, rejects the pressures of conformity and is slow to accept his leaders illogical projections of loyalty and duty. By running away to preservation Natelys whores sister, Yossarian is able to overcome the oppression of authority and find his receive sense of purpose by deciding for himself what is right and pursuing it. This victory advances daimons commendati on of standing up against the conventions of society and refusing to accept truth blindly. Joseph Hellers novel makes use of humorous surrealism to illuminate corruption in society. Heller admits that in his novels, the texture, the approach, as opposed to the basic tommyrot line, the sequence of action, is what makes them distinctive (Rielly). Indeed, at its most basic level, the plot of Catch-22 is exactly surrealistic or unconventional at all it is a sanely historically accurate portrait of the end of the Second World War. The missions Yossarian flies, the deaths he witnesses, and the poverty he observes are all true to the setting. Many events in the book, such as the mission where Yossarian and his comrades are ordered to bomb a civilian city to create a roadbloc... ...on to be part of an Ameri sight traditions of literary rebels who escape... in order to save themselves from absurdity, compromise, or dispair (McDonald). Though Heller intended the moral ambiguity of escapin g military service to raise a question rather than answer one, Yossarians final action ultimately represents a triumph of nonconformity (Rielly). He is able to see the fraudulence of the war and decides that a disobedient life helping a lost girl is more worthy than a dutiful one serving a corrupt general. through and through this decision, Yossarian is able to find purpose and moral satisfaction in his own life. This personal victory celebrates the power of nonconformity. In boldly rejecting societal expectations to come the life one believes in, goodness can be pursued, evil can be challenged, and the truth strength and value of an individual can be found.