Dennis Zeedyk-Catch-22

Author of Book: Joseph Heller
Date Read: January 16, 2025

Book Report

Title: Catch-22
Author: Joseph Heller
Pages: 463
1/16/25

I chose this book because I have heard of this book for a long time. The term “Catch-22” is now in the dictionary as it was derived from this novel. At the heart of the book is the malingering bombadier, Yossarian, a hero endlessly inventive in his schemes to save his skin from the horrible chances of war. His efforts are perfectly understandable because as he furiously scrambles, thousands of people he hasn’t even met (Nazis & Italians) are trying to kill him. His main problem is with Colonel Cathcart, who keeps raising the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempts to excuse himself from the perilous missions that he is committed to flying, he is trapped by the Great Loyalty Oath Crusade, the hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule from which the book takes its title: a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes the necessary formal request to be relieved of such missions, the very act of making the request (to save his life by not getting shot down) proves that he is sane and therefore ineligble to be relieved. Catch-22 is a microcosm of the world in which we currently live.

The book takes place on Pianosa, a very small island south of Elba, off the western coast of NW Italy. In reality, the size of this island is practically impossible for this book to have taken place there.

I learned the following from this book:
1) This book is associated with the military because the novel takes place within a bombing unit of the US Army Air Force and because of the craziness of the military bureaucracy and to a greater extent, the government bureacracy. While I was reading this book & carrying it from place to place, several fellow inmates saw me reading it and asked me if I was in the military.
2) Throughout the book, each of the 41 chapters describes a specific character or incident and how they are caught in a Catch-22. The characters interact with one another until they are sent home, disappear or are more likely – killed in action. 3) The book seems to look into the future (present day) when Yossarian says “What upsets me is that they think I am a sucker. They think that they are smart and the rest of us are dumb. And the thought occurs to me right now, for the first time, that they may be right.” I feel this way about the US government when they say that it is OK to continually run up the debt and fund programs that make no sense to the chagrin of the general population who know that it cannot go on like this forever without an eventual reckoning or possible collapse.

The following lessons will increase my prospects for success after prison:
1) There are a great many Catch-22 traps in the real world, especially for inmates or those entering the beginnings of their trial. For example, if someone really believes they are not guilty and/or may be innocent and will not accept the plea and take it to trial, they will get a more severe sentence after they are found guilty. If someone is guilty and accepts the plea bargain, they will get a less severe sentence. In this example, the more guilty party gets less time in prison.
2) Sometimes people don’t care so much about what you say/do as what you don’t say/do. For example, when talking to someone of greater authority, they don’t care much about what you actually say if not followed by the term “Sir” or “Yuor Honor.”
3) In modern, large bureaucracies, the weakest/poorest employee can continue working because as long as someone does the work is noted as complete, nearly anyone can take credit for it because so many people are involved. A timely example is that last night the “Israel-Hamas Cease Fire” was announced. So many people on all sides that were involved (Trump’s team & Biden’s team) can take credit for it, even though probably 20% of the people were responsible for 80% of the results. Interestingly, no one gave credit to Prime Minister Netanyahu, so this morning he prevented from the Israeli Parliament from voting on it. The net result is that of the two main players, one stopped no matter what the others daid or did. This is why I like working for smaller companies.