Joseph Heller the Novels \"Catch-22\" and \"Something

Joseph Heller

The novels "Catch-22" and "Something Happened" demonstrates the inevitable presence of black humor, irrationality and immorality that prevails in times of war or conflict in human society, as humans pursue power and superiority -- that is, survival (of the fittest).

Outlining of the three major themes discussed in the paper, namely: black humor, irrationality, and immorality in Catch-22, mainly centering on the characters in the novel. Comparison of "Catch-22" against another Heller novel, "Something Happened."

Illustrations of Black Humor in "Catch-22" vis-a-vis "Something Happened"

Demonstrations of irrationality in "Catch-22" vis-a-vis "Something Happened"

Presence of immorality in "Catch-22" vis-a-vis "Something Happened"

Synthesis

Heller's consistent portrayal of humanity as ultimately irrational and immoral portrays humans' innate need to survive regardless of the means by which they achieve it (survival).

Conclusion: Reiteration of the thesis statement

Black Humor, Irrationality and Immorality of Human Society as Portrayed in Joseph Heller's novels (Catch-22 and Something Happened)

Mid-20th century had been a pivotal point in people's lives, wherein significant events occurred that radically changed the values, beliefs, and ideology of human society as it moved towards modernization. American society, in particular, had been directly affected and influenced by the effects of the Cold War, changing the way their perceived nationalism, patriotism, and heroism in the 20th century. The Cold War had taught people that it is not bad to be selfish, to think about one's welfare and survival in life. The failure of American governments throughout the years to give justification to war and other forms of conflict lessened support for it, hence, people have become more skeptical about the honor that comes with sacrifice and selflessness for the sake of the country.

People's disillusionment also led to the development of black humor in American culture. More commonly described as the "humor that deals with unpleasant aspects of life in a bitter or ironic way," black humor became the American people's outlet to express their feelings of disillusionment and hopelessness (Microsoft Encarta 2002). Indeed, this is the central theme that emerged in Joseph Heller's novel, "Catch-22." In this novel, Heller depicts through black humor the senselessness of war, particularly the act of enlisting young men in combat, individuals who have no idea about nor belief in the war they were supposed to be fighting.

Embedded in his technique of illustrating black humor in "Catch," Heller also centered on the themes of immorality and irrationality as the primary factors that reinforced the implementation of the concept of Catch-22. In highlighting the existence and prevalence of immorality and irrationality, he demonstrated this through the military dynamics, including other vital institutions in the society as well, such as the medical and business sectors.

Heller did not only demonstrate these themes of black humor, immorality and irrationality in "Catch." Its succeeding novel, "Something Happened," is also an example of how Americans and American life has been limited only as an ideal, because reality has made people feel disillusioned with the downward spiral of quality of life (i.e., happiness and satisfaction). In it, Heller used the character of the American male who lived in modern society, who remained unhappy, dissatisfied, and continually skeptical about life despite the comfortable life that he leads, living the "American dream."

The persistence of these three themes -- black humor, immorality, and irrationality -- is discussed in this paper. The discussion and analysis of "Catch-22" (primarily) and "Something Happened" (secondarily) posit that the inevitable presence of black humor, immorality and irrationality that prevails in times of war and conflict in human society, as humans pursue power, superiority, and ultimately, survival.

II. Black humor in the concept of "Catch-22"

The concept of Catch-22 is, in itself, a product of Heller's use of black humor in his novel. In order to effectively convey how black humor operates, it is essential to determine the core idea behind the rule that is Catch-22 (18):

All over the world, boys on every side of the bomb line were laying down their lives for what they had been told was their country, and no one seemed to mind, least of all the boys who were laying down their young lives. There was no end in sight. The only end in sight was Yossarian's own, and he might have remained in the hospital until doomdsday had it not been for that patriotic Texan ... The Texan wanted everybody in the ward to be happy but Yossarian and Dunbar. He was really very sick.

This passage brought into light the underlying 'principle' behind Catch-22: "a rule which allows you no way out, when another rule apparently does allow a way out" (Warburton, 2003:31). Catch-22 is a rule that has two claims, which opposes each other. It claims that a man is insane when he willingly engages himself in numerous flying missions, while a sane man would not want to go on missions. However, there is no way out of this predicament: men who do not want to go on missions would plead insanity, only to be told that if they are truly insane, they would not mind doing flying missions. Insane or not, these young men are indirectly forced to engage in combat and fight for a war they do not have any idea about.

Black humor is already apparent in the idea of this rule. Because almost all the young men in Yossarian's team wanted to escape death by escaping these flying missions, they feign insanity. Unfortunately for them, Catch-22 made it impossible to escape these missions. Thus, Yossarian and his fellow soldiers are stuck with amidst people who are truly insane and those who are feigning insanity. In this example, Heller tried to create a comic element to the sorry state Yossarian found himself in. Stuck in a generally mad situation wherein the military wanted to win the war at all costs, he was forced to conform to people's insanity; otherwise, he will not be able to escape his mad reality. In effect, Yossarian and his fellow soldiers opted to feign insanity than face the reality that they are governed and controlled by mad military superiors.

Apart from the rule of Catch-22, black humor was demonstrated when the young soldiers were depicted as far from being patriotic and brave. In the passage cited earlier, Heller noted that "[t]he only end in sight was Yossarian's own, he might have remained in the hospital until doomsday had it not been for that patriotic Texan." The loathing that Yossarian felt contradicted the "ideal feelings" soldiers should feel when risking their lives in combat. Ideally, it takes a person's courage and love for his/her country that would make him/her engage in a deadly conflict. However, since Yossarian and the other soldiers were forced to engage in a conflict not of their own wanting and on their own accord, they only feel resentment for the stupid rules and responsibilities that they needed to follow while under the control of the military.

A third example of black humor in "Catch" involved the inhumane and unsanitary treatment of the "soldier in white," whose identity and sudden appearance and disappearance in the first chapter of the novel remained a mystery for Yossarian. The soldier in white received inhumane and unsanitary treatment simply because he was fed with his own bodily wastes, the hospital staff taking advantage of the fact that the soldier in white was incapable of moving around, putting him therefore in the control and mercy of the doctors and nurses. To fully grasp the absurdity of the staff's poor treatment of the soldier in white, a passage about him and his condition is quoted as follows (10):

He had been smuggled into the ward during the night ... Sewn into the bandages over the insides of both elbows were zippered lips through which he was fed clear fluid from a clear jar. A silent zinc pipe rose from the cement on his groin and was coupled to a slim rubber hose into a clear, stoppered jar on the floor. When the jar on the floor was full, the jar feeding his elbow was empty, and the two were simply switched quickly so that the stuff could drip back into him.

This blatant neglect for the soldier in white reflected the plight of the soldiers who had the misfortune of being wounded, injured, and perhaps maimed to the point of immobility and dependence on others. For Yossarian, the soldier in white was the symbol of the senselessness of the war, a conflict wherein the only real casualty is the soldiers' death -- literal death and/or death of their desire to serve for their country and act courageously. The soldier in white helped Yossarian realize that it was more important to become selfless and survive than sacrifice for one's country, only to end up being humiliated in the most absurd manner (similar to the soldier in white's predicament).

These snippets of Yossarian's life under the rule of Catch-22 showed black humor was prevalent whenever hopelessness and suffering thrived. Moreover, black humor dominated soldier life, as the soldiers' superiors continued giving them missions that helped increase the superiors' power and superiority, while leaving the soldiers wounded physically and psychologically.

It is not surprising that black humor is not only known for its comic depiction of people's disillusionment, hopelessness, and suffering, but also centers on the portrayal of the individual (or in the case of the novel, Yossarian as the protagonist) as "insignificant." Cochran (2000) noted how the 'individual in modern life has become insignificant,' and this was perhaps the most comic issue that black humorists like Heller wanted to focus on (166). In a world that has developed technology and complex social, political, and economic institutions and organizations, humanity was left with no other function but to become mere dummies of the very institutions and organizations that it established. Humans in the modern life have become victims of their own creations.

The insignificance of the individual was mirrored in the lives of Yossarian, the soldier in white, and the soldiers who feigned insanity just to escape their flying missions. Yossarian and his fellow soldiers have become insignificant individuals under Catch-22, wherein they are forced to engage in flying missions without any regard to their welfare and safety. Similarly, the soldier in white was treated like a liability rather than a person who has sacrificed for his country. Because he was wounded while defending his country, he was treated in the hospital in the most humiliating and absurd manner when he can no longer contributed to the war effort. These soldiers were all insignificant, for the military did not care whether they were killed, maimed, or injured, as long as they help their country wins the war. Black humor unfolds the truth that the war was declared not to protect a nation's peoples, but to reinforce the leaders' control and superiority not only to their citizenry, but to other countries and governments as well.

Despite the seemingly negative depictions of life in black humor, it is actually a useful technique that Heller used to act against the unjust and unfair treatment of soldiers engaged in combat during the war. Through black humor, he was able to criticize and expose the military and the government, institutions that have promoted and reinforced "the absurd and meaningless patterns of behavior that sprang from American military-economic involvement ... they institutionalize their illogic by way of the mutable Catch-22 and allow it, 'in the name of reason, patriotism, and rightness' to seize control of the men's lives" (Lupack, 1995:23).

In effect, black humor is interpreted as a form of subversion -- a rebellion that seeks to not only criticizes and expose, but also abolish the military's propaganda and manner of handling conflicts (Henriksen, 1997:245). By abolishing the military institution, society is once again giving way to self-preservation, wherein humanity would once again consider quality of life as more important than mere survival. Black humor is a form of rebellion that attempts to bring back the values of selflessness, courage, and patriotism among people, and helps fight the feeling of hopelessness and disillusionment that inevitably comes with political conflict and war.

Black humor as a form of subversion and mirror that reflects the insignificance, disillusionment, hopelessness, and eventual selfishness of humanity was also apparent in the character of Robert Slocum in "Something Happened." Also set in modern American society, "Something" illustrates the life of a middle-class American who remained dissatisfied and pessimistic about life despite owning the comforts of life. Bob's character was molded in the same manner as Yossarian's; only, the former was depicted as more passive, while the latter was characterized as more active.

Bob's passivity in the novel is an important insight into Heller's objective in creating the novel. Also using the technique of black humor, Heller showed how the money- and material-driven American individual succumbs to selfishness and disregards quality life over fleeting happiness brought by his adultery and desire to live more materialistically than he already he is. His thoughts about Corporate America reflected the passivity and hopelessness in Bob's belief that he would still achieve happiness and contentment in life:

... If you asked any one of them if he would choose to spend the rest of his life working for the company, he would give you a resounding No!, regardless of what inducements were offered. I was that high once. If you asked me the same question today, I would also give you a resounding No! And add: "I think I'd rather die now."

But I am making no plans to leave.

I have the feeling now that there is no place left for me to go.

III. The Rise of Irrationality in Seeking Power, Superiority and Survival

This theme is an extension and a more specific depiction of the lives of the soldiers in "Catch." The rule of Catch-22 itself is the symbol of irrationality, and interestingly, there is no way to get around this rule. However, it was noticeable that almost all of the soldiers in the novel responded to this symbol of irrationality through another form of irrationality: insanity. It was only by claiming themselves insane that the soldiers were able to survive and be able to live military life under Catch-22.

Catch-22 was used to help the soldiers' superiors propel them to power and superiority. Indeed, Heller wanted to point out that it is only through irrational -- that is, crazy -- means that the generals, colonels, and majors of the military will get more power and control over the soldiers and the citizenry. Without Catch-22, they will not have the invincibility of ordering the soldiers to undergo flying missions. Without Catch-22, the war cannot be fought, for all the soldiers realized that they are fighting a senseless and baseless war.

A perfect example of the individual who was propelled to power through Catch-22 and the military institution was Lieutenant Scheissskopf. Described by Heller as an unremarkable man who had taken advantage of the war by taking the "opportunity to wear an officer's uniform every day and say 'Men' in a clipped, military voice" (79). Lt. Scheisskopf also enjoyed the control that he has over the soldiers, forcing them to participate in military parades under the intense heat of the sun, despite the pointlessness of the whole exercise. He was the image of an individual who considered war and the military as "blessings" that gave him the chance to control people, when before he never got the chance to have this power if not for the war.

Standing on the opposite pole was Yossarian, who hated the military parades, simply because they are pointless, "absurd," and only cause extreme exhaustion for the soldiers (82). His opposition of Lt. Scheisskopf and his military parades is reflective of his opposition to his irrationality. For Heller's protagonist, military parades are pointless because they do not contribute anything at all to the war effort. In fact, military parading was just a form of posturing, a parade of individuals who are deemed superior (soldiers and their superiors) because they are the ones in control of the war.

Of course, this fact was just that -- a posturing. Yossarian's and his fellow soldier's reality was far from the proud and organized manner characteristics of military parades. The soldiers' reality was that war brought out the worst in humanity. Reason no longer existed and was not respected: reason tells the soldiers the war was senseless but the irrational rules and principles of the military institution keep them from getting out of a responsibility borne from an irrational cause. This was the predicament the soldiers find themselves in, living the life "Catch-22"-style.

Thus, power and superiority was achieved through irrationality. By imprisoning the soldiers in the belief that they should be brave, selfless, and patriotic, the military officials were able to control them. When the soldiers however realize that they do not need to be selfless at all if they are fighting a senseless war, the military officials sought to prolong their power and superiority through the Catch-22 rule. The soldiers then became prisoners, and in fact, considered the real casualties of war.

Power-hungry and egomaniacal military officials were the ones who brought about the downfall of the soldiers in "Catch." This downfall means four unfortunate incidences that commonly happened among Yossarian's acquaintances: death during combat, insanity, death through suicide, and sudden disappearances. These four incidences became the coping mechanisms through which the soldiers tried to channel their depression and frustration about the seemingly meaningless life they are leading.

Unfortunately, Catch-22 became the way of life for the soldiers, for they saw no other way out of it. They lived life according to Catch-22 in order to survive: they feigned insanity to get out of the military, and when they do not, they eventually succumb to insanity altogether, since this was a better alternative rather than live life and witness its disappointing realities. Insanity was just the initial course of action that the soldiers intended to take. For some, insanity was followed by suicide and eventual death. For the other soldiers, insanity was followed by a sudden disappearance, and the soldier's whereabouts were never known even when the war is over.

It was only Yossarian who was able to hold on to his sanity while trying to fight his way through the irrational military officials controlling him. He also tried feigning insanity, but later decided to be indifferent about his reality in order to survive. Heller did not depict Yossarian's survival as ideal, since the protagonist expressed thoughts of selfishness and desire for death as possible means of escape from the military. However, it is important to note that Yossarian's psyche is real although not ideal. By being selfish and choosing death, Yossarian was able to express what he was feeling and thinking during the war, despite being imprisoned by military rules and principles. For Heller, Yossarian's case was what really occurs when war breaks out -- insanity and irrationality eventually reign.

Rowe's (1994) analysis of irrationality and the Catch-22 rule in "Catch" reflected the discussion contained in this section, wherein the dominance of the irrational rule caused soldiers to succumb to insanity and death (83):

... The recoil against the confusion, shallowness, and decadence of the present can take the form of escape into both an idealized sense of the past and some equally idealized vision of the future. Here frustration with Catch-22 becomes so severe that escape is sought not only from the present, but from history altogether... "Insensitivity" and "failure of openness" are terms too mild to describe the destruction of the present that occurs in the accommodation.