Crisis of Conscience Essays -- Literary Analysis, Joseph Heller

In Catch-22, Joseph Heller creates a surreal world of irrationality to illuminate madness and corruption. Through the satirical characterizations of the novels leaders, Heller criticizes non just the institution of war but all forms of bureaucratic establishment. The authority figures in the novel are portrayed as selfish and deranged maniacs without some(prenominal) sense 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 contour and conventions. The novels protagonist, Yossarian, however, rejects the pressures of conformity and is unwilling to accept his leaders illogical projections of justness and duty. By running away to rescue Natelys whores sister, Yossarian is able to overcome the oppression of authority and find his admit sense of purpose by deciding for himself what is right and pursuing it. This victory advances Hellers commendation of standin g 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 story line, the eon of bodily function, is what makes them distinctive (Rielly). Indeed, at its most basic level, the plot of Catch-22 is hardly surrealistic or unconventional at all it is a reasonably historically spotless portrait of the end of the Second World War. The relegatings 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 American traditions of literary rebels who escape... in order to drive home themselves from absurdity, compromise, or dispair (McDonald). Though Heller intended the moral ambiguity of escaping 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 young woman is more worthy than a dutiful one serving a corrupt general. Through this decision, Yossarian is able to find purpose and moral satisfaction in his possess life. This personal victory celebrates the power of nonconformity. In boldly rejecting societal expectations to pursue 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.