1. The plot of Catch 22 by Joseph Heller is about a soldier named Yossarian who is stationed on the island of Pianosa in the Mediterranean Sea. His squadron is put into horrible combat situations and bombing runs, where they have to take pictures of explosions. Their missions are continually being raised so that they can never be sent home. Yossarian’s story is the main heart of the novel and almost all events are put through his point of view. Yossarian takes the entire war personally, he is angry that his life is in danger even though he has done nothing. He wants to live and become immortal, because of this he spends a lot of time in the hospital, faking illnesses to get out of the war. Yossarian is constantly remembering his memory of Snowden, a soldier who died in his arms on a mission, when he had lost all desire to be in the war. Yossarian is put into extreme conditions, where he sees friends die and vanish. Yossarian claims that he is insane in order to get kicked out of the military service, however it doesn’t work. As Yossarian continues to stay alive, more stories unveil around him. His friend Nately falls in love with a whore from Rome, who falls in love back with him; however Nately is killed on the next mission. When Yossarian tells her this, she blames him and tries to stab him. As the novel comes to an ending, Yossarian troubled by Nutley’s death, won’t fly anymore missions. He walks the streets of Rome, seeing every kind of human horror. He is eventually arrested for being in Rome without a pass, and his superior officers offer him a choice. Either to face a court-martial or be released and sent home with an honorable discharge. However in order to be released, he must approve of his superiors policy. He doesn’t however and deserts the army and flees to Sweden. Where he tries to gain control of his own life.
2. A theme of the novel is that you can’t escape death. Yussarions goal is to become immortal or die in the attempt. This was why he tried to stay out of the war as much as he could, by faking the hospital visits. He can’t stop thinking about death and the way that it has affected him.
3. The author’s tone is satirical and sarcastic. An example of this is when Yussarion is ordered to bomb a peaceful undefended village. They do this in order to have the village fall down the side of a mountain and create a roadblock of rubble. The mission was totally unnecessary and costly. Another example is when the chaplain is being interrogated in the cellar and the officer asks him whether he was guilty or not of said crimes. He then immediately marks him down as guilty without any evidence. A final example is when Doc Daneeka is reported as killed, even though he is alive. When he goes to get his temperature taken the doctors say “you’re dead, that’s probably why you feel so cold.”
4. Five literary elements that helped me understand the theme/tone are satire, irony, similes, juxtaposition, and personification. Satire example is when Yussarion is ordered to bomb a peaceful undefended village. They do this in order to have the village fall down the side of a mountain and create a roadblock of rubble. The mission was totally unnecessary and costly. An example of Irony is having to be crazy to fly the bombing missions, but you can’t be crazy in order to fly.
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