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:For other uses of this term, see Catch 22.
Catch-22 is a 1961 novel by Joseph Heller about the madness of war. The phrase "catch-22" has come into common use to mean a cyclical conundrum, based on its meaning in the book as described below.
The novel follows a fictional World War II US Army Air Corps bombardier, Captain Yossarian, and a number of other American airmen during World War II, based on the island of Pianosa, south of Italy. (A magazine excerpt from the novel was originally published as "Catch-18," but Heller changed the title after another World War II novel, Leon Uris's Mila 18, was published.) Its pacing is frenetic, its tenor is intellectual, and its humor is largely absurdist -- but with grisly moments of realism interspersed. As the Czech writer Arnošt Lustig recounts in his latest book "13x18", Joseph Heller personally told him that he would never have written Catch 22 had he not first read The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek .
Within the book, catch-22 is a military rule, the circular logic of which most notably prevents anyone from avoiding combat missions:
- One may only be excused from flying bombing missions on the grounds of insanity;
- One must request to be excused;
- One who requests to be excused is presumably in fear for his life. This is taken to be proof of his sanity, and he is therefore obliged to continue flying missions;
- One who is truly insane presumably would not make the request. He therefore would continue flying missions, even though as an insane person he could be excused from them by asking.
As in the above example, much of Heller's prose in Catch-22 is circular and repetitive, exemplifying in form the structure of Catch-22.
Catch-22 is also invoked at other points in the novel to justify various other actions. At one point, victims of harassment by military agents quote the agents as having explained one of Catch-22's most macabre and rococo provisions in this fashion: Catch-22 states that agents enforcing Catch-22 need not prove that Catch-22 actually contains whatever provision the accused violator is accused of violating. The military agent explains: "Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can’t stop them from doing." Yossarian comes to realize that Catch-22 doesn't actually exist, but that because the powers that be claim it does and the world believes that it does, it nevertheless has potent effects. The combination of brute force with specious legalistic justification is one of the book's primary motifs.
The phrase has come to refer to similar no-win situations generally, as is noted below.
1 Characters in the book
- Yossarian
- "Aarfy" AardvarkCaptain Aardvark, a character in Joseph Heller's magnum opus " Catch-22," giggles in serious situations and takes pleasure in others' pain. He is oblivious to incoming flak near his bomber, and punches thrown by the main character Yossarian are absorbed i
- Appleby
- Captain BlackFor the Captain Scarlet character see Captain Black (Captain Scarlet Captain Black (first name unknown) was the squadron intelligence officer in the 256th Army Air Force squadron, in the 1961 Joseph Heller novel, Catch-22. Because of the lack of risk invo
- C.I.D. Investigator #1
- C.I.D. Investigator #2
- Colonel Cargill
- Colonel CathcartColonel Cathcart is a character in Joseph Heller's Catch 22. He is the squadron commander based in Pianosa and is obsessed with becoming a general. As such, he does whatever it takes to please his superiors, particularly, by raising the number of missions
- ClevingerClevinger is a character in Joseph Heller's classic novel Catch-22''. Like Yossarian, Clevinger is part of an air crew in a bomber squadron operating out of a small island in the Mediterranian. Clevinger is a complete opposite of Yossarian, in his complet
- Nurse CramerNurse Cramer is a fictional character from the novel Catch-22. She is the best friend of Nurse Duckett. After Nurse Duckett starts a relationship with Yossarian, Nurse Cramer stops speaking to her, but they're still spending their spare time together.
- Major DanbyA character in Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22. He is a college professor and intellectual who sees himself as a poor match for the armed services. He briefs the airmen on upcoming missions. He is almost shot for subordination sighing after a demand for si
- Doc DaneekaIn Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22 Doc Daneeka is Yossarian's friend, the squadron's doctor. Catch 22 is first explained to Yossarian when he asks Daneeka to excuse him from combat duty. He feels that his problems are infinitely worse than anyone else's (H
- Mrs. Daneeka
- Major ---- de Coverley
- General Dreedle
- Dreedle's girl
- Dobbs
- Nurse Duckett
- Dunbar
- Dori Duz
- Captain Flume
- A. Fortiori
- Gus & Wes
- Havermeyer
- Huple
- Hungry Joe
- Colonel Korn
- Kraft
- Luciana
- The Maid with the lime-colored panties
- Major Major Major Major
- McWatt
- Michaela
- Milo Minderbinder
- Colonel Moodus
- Mudd (aka the Dead Man in Yossarian's tent)
- Lieutenant Nately
- Nately's Whore
- Nately's Whore's Kid Sister
- The Old Man in Rome
- Orr
- General Peckem
- Pilchard & Wren
- Kid Sampson
- Major Sanderson
- Lieutenant Scheisskopf
- Mrs. Scheisskopf
- Snark
- Snowden
- Soldier in White
- The Soldier Who Sees Everything Twice (aka Giuseppe)
- The Soldier Who Sees Everything Twice 's Family
- Stubbs
- Chaplain Tappman
- The Texan
- Sergeant Towser
- Corporal Whitcomb
- Chief White Halfoat
- ex-PFC Wintergreen
The sequel to Catch 22, Closing Time, was published by Joseph Heller in 1994.
