Throughout these posts, I've been tracking morality and bureaucratic idiocy. Upon finishing this fun book, I realized that more than idiocy, it's the distortion and manipulation of justice. The military convicts an innocent man, Clevinger, for doing nothing whatsoever. They elect not to punish Milo Minderbinder because of the huge profit that he made by bombing his own base. They keep raising the number of missions with no reason. At first, I thought that it was Joseph Heller's way of poking fun at the military, which he served in. However once I started really looking at it, I found that it was more than just about the guys in control being idiots. The trial of Clevinger and the ever rising number of missions are the best examples of why it's injustice more than idiocy, because there isn't really a reason, just hatred. As the novel progresses, it gets worse and worse for the men, beginning with Clevinger who is punished for 'being a smart guy' and 'listening to classical music', to Chaplain Tappman, who is accused and punished for "stealing a plum tomato" (which was actually given to him by his accuser); when he denies his guilt, he is quickly asked "why would we be questioning you if you weren't guilty?" This distortion of justice helps to show the powerlessness of the enlisted men against the 'higher-ups'.
I was looking up some things about the author Joseph Heller, when I stumbled on to an interesting sentence that talked about the motif of miscommunication. When I saw that, I had a brief "HOLY CRAP IT WAS THERE THE WHOLE TIME" moment. I then went back through the novel and looked at all the times when miscommunication was a factor. It started at the beginning when Yossarian is assigned to sensor letters and starts crossing out things that have no purpose. When I first read this, I thought that it was just introducing us to Yossarian's particular brand of madness, but with the 'looking for miscommunication' lens on, I saw that it was him hindering communication between the soldiers and their lives back home. Another example is the confusing ex-PFC Wintergreen. He works in intelligence and muddles with the operations and designs of the Generals over him by simply not relaying information, or even prank-calling them. Major Major ends up signing the same fake name that Yossarian did when signing official documents, making me wonder if Washington Irving/Irving Washington means something else. When in the nose of his plane, Yossarian cannot, no matter how hard he tries, tell Aarfy to leave the nose in spite of how often he yells it and how obvious his body language is. Expanding the 'miscommunication' motif to 'language' allows me to group in the deceit of the commanding officers when they keep raising the minimum number of missions. I was trying to put a pin in what this could mean for a while, I looked through Foster to see if he had anything to say on the subject of communication (or lack thereof), but he wasn't in an obligatory mood. What I've been able to extrapolate from this is that language isn't really important, especially when his friend is bleeding out in the back of a plane, all he can say is "there, there", because words just don't cut it.
When I was reading, I had to often stop and remind myself that nothing is written for no reason. As Foster wrote, 'you cannot notice the paperboy without the author giving him enough detail to be noticed' or something along those lines. I had to read the chapter containing the trial of clevinger about five times before I truly understood it. I 'fondled every detail' like Nabokov instructed, and I realized that as the multiple Colonels and Lieutenants and Majors are yelling at Clevinger, they begin to act like Hyenas, at one point even saying "I just can't wait to rip your stinking, cowardly body apart limb from limb". Listening to Flannery O'Connor, I made note of minor characters in this story (there are so many characters) and was justly rewarded when every single one of them was mentioned at a later point in the novel and had their story expanded upon, sometimes becoming major characters themselves.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to be entertained and at the same time have their close reading skills put to the test. It's quite ridiculous most of the time, yet still manages to impart very real themes without breaking that sense of surreal ridiculousness, and it really is quite unique and special.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Monday, October 13, 2014
Blog post no. 3: Paradox and Morality
The novel, Catch-22 is chock-full of paradox and irony. The namesake of the book, Catch-22 itself is a paradoxical concept. The principle rule of Catch-22 is that 'requesting to be prevented from flying more combat missions because of questionable sanity, is proof that one is sane enough for combat'. First introduced by Doc Daneeka, this plagues every one of the airmen in Yossarian's squadron. After encountering about three-hundred thousand, I started to wonder why they're all included. Nothing, after all is written for no reason.
After looking back at the paradoxes, I started to trace them. I realized that they almost all occur exclusively at the hands of the military. For instance, airmen only have to fly 35 combat missions to finish one tour of duty, however, Colonel Cathcart keeps raising the number of missions over and over. Because Colonel Cathcart is a very senior commanding officer, all of the airmen must follow his orders. Like this instance, the paradoxes always cause grief, and don't seem to ever benefit anybody. They hardly even benefit the army itself. I think that Joseph Heller is trying to paint the army as a bunch of idiots.
In the book, one of the over-reaching themes has been morality. Central to this theme is Yossarian's own struggle with morality. The novel opens with him ducking responsibility any way that he can, he fakes illness, signs a fake name on official documents, and turns around during missions for the smallest of reasons. However, as his friends start to die all around him and he starts to realize that life is very frail, he starts to mature more, and he starts struggling with the concept of altruism against self-interest.
As he spends more time in cities that he's bombed, and sees the rampant destruction all around him, he begins to realize that he's bombing innocent people for the benefit of his superiors. While he's struggling with this concept, one of his friends, Aarfy sees him and starts bragging about how he just raped and murdered a woman. Yossarian hears this and is horrified that this is the type of company that he's been keeping. He continues to struggle with this, and it comes to a head with his full recollection of Snowden's death. Snowden dies in the back of Yossarians plane in a bomb run over Avignon. The nature of his death and how 'visible' it was mad Yossarian start realizing that humans are very fragile creatures.
After looking back at the paradoxes, I started to trace them. I realized that they almost all occur exclusively at the hands of the military. For instance, airmen only have to fly 35 combat missions to finish one tour of duty, however, Colonel Cathcart keeps raising the number of missions over and over. Because Colonel Cathcart is a very senior commanding officer, all of the airmen must follow his orders. Like this instance, the paradoxes always cause grief, and don't seem to ever benefit anybody. They hardly even benefit the army itself. I think that Joseph Heller is trying to paint the army as a bunch of idiots.
In the book, one of the over-reaching themes has been morality. Central to this theme is Yossarian's own struggle with morality. The novel opens with him ducking responsibility any way that he can, he fakes illness, signs a fake name on official documents, and turns around during missions for the smallest of reasons. However, as his friends start to die all around him and he starts to realize that life is very frail, he starts to mature more, and he starts struggling with the concept of altruism against self-interest.
As he spends more time in cities that he's bombed, and sees the rampant destruction all around him, he begins to realize that he's bombing innocent people for the benefit of his superiors. While he's struggling with this concept, one of his friends, Aarfy sees him and starts bragging about how he just raped and murdered a woman. Yossarian hears this and is horrified that this is the type of company that he's been keeping. He continues to struggle with this, and it comes to a head with his full recollection of Snowden's death. Snowden dies in the back of Yossarians plane in a bomb run over Avignon. The nature of his death and how 'visible' it was mad Yossarian start realizing that humans are very fragile creatures.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Blog Post no. 2: Writing style and a little over theme
As a writer, Joseph Heller is very sarcastic and snarky, or at least his characters are. In Catch-22, many times I've had to read over a text multiple times to discern what the meaning of it actually was. For instance, on the ninth page, while describing a minor character, Heller writes that "The Texan turned out to good-natured, generous and likeable. In three days no one could stand him." Little comments like that make this book so humorous and at the same time, so confusing. Not only are the characters incredibly sarcastic (and insane), but they contradict themselves, each other, and the story that it would make anyones head spin. For instance, at one point, a character named Clevinger is being court marshaled, and the dialogue goes something like this:
"No sir." [Clevinger]
"Don't sir me!" [Colonel (no name given)]
"Yes, sir." [Clevinger]
"And say 'sir' when you don't!" [Major Metcalf]
"Goddamn it Metcalf, you're an idiot!" [same Colonel] (80)
In spite of being an incredibly hilarious scene that had me wheezing, it was at first very confusing to read. Heller writes with an abundance of dialogue, and at times it gets hard to trace each person's temperament and/or motivation while four people are conversing and interrupting each other. I think that it could be Heller trying to say that the military is full of fools that can't carry a thought between them, because it certainly seems that way while reading about the military leadership in this book. Even more than their ineptitude, the leadership in this book resents, and to some extent even hates their subordinates. A particularly vile character, Captain Black is giddy when he learns that the men are going to be sent on a very dangerous mission, and is crestfallen when it's aborted. When he learns about the mission, he takes glee in spreading the horrible information, "'That's right, you bastards, Bologna,' he kept repeating to all the bombardiers who inquired incredulously if they were really going to Bologna. 'Ha! Ha! Ha! Eat your livers, you bastards. This time you're really in for it'" (111).
This is actually a re-occouring theme within the book, I can't pin it down exactly, but I feel that it's described best by Clevinger (the same one who was court marshaled above) after his court marshal; "These three men who hated him spoke his language and wore his uniform, but he saw their loveless faces set immutably into cramped, mean lines of hostility and understood instantly that nowhere in the world, not in all the fascist tanks or planes or submarines, not in the bunkers behind the machine guns or the mortars or behind the blowing flame throwers, not even among the expert gunners of the crack Hermann Goering Antiaircraft Division or among the grisly connivers in all the beer halls in Munich and everywhere else, were there men who hated him more" (81). After writing that, it's actually pretty obvious that he means that his enemy truly isn't his enemy. The men aiming their antiaircraft guns at his plane don't hate him as much as the men who are his superiors.
"No sir." [Clevinger]
"Don't sir me!" [Colonel (no name given)]
"Yes, sir." [Clevinger]
"And say 'sir' when you don't!" [Major Metcalf]
"Goddamn it Metcalf, you're an idiot!" [same Colonel] (80)
In spite of being an incredibly hilarious scene that had me wheezing, it was at first very confusing to read. Heller writes with an abundance of dialogue, and at times it gets hard to trace each person's temperament and/or motivation while four people are conversing and interrupting each other. I think that it could be Heller trying to say that the military is full of fools that can't carry a thought between them, because it certainly seems that way while reading about the military leadership in this book. Even more than their ineptitude, the leadership in this book resents, and to some extent even hates their subordinates. A particularly vile character, Captain Black is giddy when he learns that the men are going to be sent on a very dangerous mission, and is crestfallen when it's aborted. When he learns about the mission, he takes glee in spreading the horrible information, "'That's right, you bastards, Bologna,' he kept repeating to all the bombardiers who inquired incredulously if they were really going to Bologna. 'Ha! Ha! Ha! Eat your livers, you bastards. This time you're really in for it'" (111).
This is actually a re-occouring theme within the book, I can't pin it down exactly, but I feel that it's described best by Clevinger (the same one who was court marshaled above) after his court marshal; "These three men who hated him spoke his language and wore his uniform, but he saw their loveless faces set immutably into cramped, mean lines of hostility and understood instantly that nowhere in the world, not in all the fascist tanks or planes or submarines, not in the bunkers behind the machine guns or the mortars or behind the blowing flame throwers, not even among the expert gunners of the crack Hermann Goering Antiaircraft Division or among the grisly connivers in all the beer halls in Munich and everywhere else, were there men who hated him more" (81). After writing that, it's actually pretty obvious that he means that his enemy truly isn't his enemy. The men aiming their antiaircraft guns at his plane don't hate him as much as the men who are his superiors.
Blog post no. 1: Character Analysis: Major Major and Milo Minderbinder
The book that I have elected to read for first quarter is Catch-22, by Joseph Heller. It happily follows Captain Yossarian and the other men of the fighting 256th squadron as they are plagued by the inescapable Catch-22 during WWII. The enigmatic Catch-22 imposes rules like "the only people allowed to ask questions are those who never do", or "asking to be grounded because of questionable sanity is proof that you're sane enough to not be grounded". The questionable sanity of every single character and the ridiculousness of Catch-22 itself provides many hilarious situations. However, going deeper that just that reveals that Heller had more in mind than a few laughs when he wrote this iconic book.
In the ninth chapter, we're introduced to a character named Major Major Major Major. First name: Major, middle name: Major, last name: Major, rank: Major. After a brief history of how he got his name, Heller writes that "Even among men lacking all distinction he inevitably stood out as a man lacking more distinction than all the rest" (83). Because of his name, his nature, and his resemblance to Henry Fonda, almost everyone shuns him. Through no fault of his own, he is forced to the fringe of the camp. Because of the forceful expulsion by his peers, and even his subordinates, he embraces his solitude, telling his secretary to only allow people in his office when he isn't there.
Because of his forced isolation, then self imposed isolation, Major Major is a symbol for loneliness and alienation. He tries very hard to become friends and have positive social interactions at first, then he goes to great lengths to avoid any sort of contact with anyone.
Milo Minderbinder is an interesting character who's main characteristic is greed. Our first introduction to how he got his position as chief mess officer proves that he is one hundred percent money motivated. To secure his position, he approached a major and told him a plan to sell supplies to other squadrons. He even bombs his own squadron because a deal that he made with the Germans would result in too good of a profit to pass up. He is almost punished by the military for it, but when they find out what huge profits he has reaped, they agree that he made the correct decision.
Milo's character is a big symbol of capitalism, he is all about money all the time. He is willing to almost poison his fellow soldiers in order to gain a profit. At one point, he actually takes vital safety equipment out of bombers to use for his benefit, claiming that "what's good for the syndicate is good for everyone". The fact that the military doesn't prosecute him because of the massive profits that he reaps proves that even entire countries will bow to money if there's enough of it.
In the ninth chapter, we're introduced to a character named Major Major Major Major. First name: Major, middle name: Major, last name: Major, rank: Major. After a brief history of how he got his name, Heller writes that "Even among men lacking all distinction he inevitably stood out as a man lacking more distinction than all the rest" (83). Because of his name, his nature, and his resemblance to Henry Fonda, almost everyone shuns him. Through no fault of his own, he is forced to the fringe of the camp. Because of the forceful expulsion by his peers, and even his subordinates, he embraces his solitude, telling his secretary to only allow people in his office when he isn't there.
Because of his forced isolation, then self imposed isolation, Major Major is a symbol for loneliness and alienation. He tries very hard to become friends and have positive social interactions at first, then he goes to great lengths to avoid any sort of contact with anyone.
Milo Minderbinder is an interesting character who's main characteristic is greed. Our first introduction to how he got his position as chief mess officer proves that he is one hundred percent money motivated. To secure his position, he approached a major and told him a plan to sell supplies to other squadrons. He even bombs his own squadron because a deal that he made with the Germans would result in too good of a profit to pass up. He is almost punished by the military for it, but when they find out what huge profits he has reaped, they agree that he made the correct decision.
Milo's character is a big symbol of capitalism, he is all about money all the time. He is willing to almost poison his fellow soldiers in order to gain a profit. At one point, he actually takes vital safety equipment out of bombers to use for his benefit, claiming that "what's good for the syndicate is good for everyone". The fact that the military doesn't prosecute him because of the massive profits that he reaps proves that even entire countries will bow to money if there's enough of it.
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