【www.gbppp.com--经典美文】
Catch-22
Catch-22 is a satirical, historical novel by the American author Joseph Heller, first published in 1961. The novel, set during the later stages of World War II from 1944 onwards, is frequently cited as one of the great literary works of the twentieth century. It has a distinctive non-chronological style where events are described from different characters' points of view and out of sequence so that the time line develops along with the plot.
After having finished the book, I discovered an interesting thing. It’s about God. God plays a part in the novel, but does not come up very frequently. The part God plays in the novel can be seen as small because of this, or it can be seen as large because of the conspicuous absence. In times of suffering, questions of God tend to come up; religious men ask for God's guidance, and atheists point out how a good God cannot exist because he would not let terrible things happen. There is little of this discussion, though it crops up occasionally as an undercurrent. Dunbar is the stark voice of atheism in the novel, flatly declaring, "There is no God." Though there is little debate on the topic, there is little hope or good will to speak of among the men. There are few good
Samaritans, and not often does a character "turn the other cheek." The good are not rewarded, and the evil are not punished. If the conventional Judeo-Christian God is present in the lives of the men, he does not have a loud voice.
The first character introduced in the entire novel is the chaplain. Yossarian is "madly in love with him." A.T. Tappman has "diffident" eyes and frequently fidgets. He is very nice, has a girl back home named Mary whom he misses "tragically," and all he wants to do is help others. However, he does not know how to help the men; he says that he makes most of the men "uncomfortable." Some of them are atheists, most of them do not trust authority of any sort, and not many of them get along with others very well. Mostly, though, there is little the chaplain can do to change any of their situations, and his impotence is as frustrating to him as it is to them. He cannot heal their wounds, he cannot keep them from flying dangerous missions, and he cannot write them orders to be sent home. As he talks to Yossarian in the first chapter, he repeatedly asks if there is anything he can do for Yossarian. "No," Yossarian tells him, "I'm sorry."
Lieutenant Scheisskopf's wife and Yossarian have the most overt theological debate in the novel. She is brought to tears when
Yossarian goes on a diatribe about how God is either "playing" or has "forgotten all about us." He calls God a "clumsy, bungling, brainless, conceited, uncouth hayseed." When she begins to hit him for his comments, he is incredulous. He asks her if she even believes in God, and she says she does not. But she says, "The God I don't believe in is a good God, a just God, and a merciful God." They reconcile that they both "won't believe in the God" they want to. This conversation highlights the characters in the novel want to believe in God but are disheartened by suffering. They want to believe in goodness and hope, but they are frustrated by the realities of the world, and they do not see a supreme being coming to the rescue. While Yossarian and Lieutenant Scheisskopf's wife both admit that they do not believe in God, they both belie their desire to believe. Atheism in the novel is the state most characters find themselves in as frustrated believers. On such points they are more confused than determinate.
Besides, there are many symbols, such as the hospital as a symbol of shelter and safety. Yossarian and the other men use the hospital as an excuse to avoid combat duty. Yossarian comments that the hospital has learned to tame death so that men can die with dignity. However, the hospital is not completely exempt from the madness that pervades the rest of the base or the battlefield. The
soldier in white, the censored letters, and Yossarian's pretense of being someone else's dying son reveal the absurdity that still exists within the hospital walls.
Grade:
Title: A literary analysis of Catch-22
Department:
Class :
Name :
Student’s number:
/thumb.jpg)
A literary analysis of Catch-22
Catch-22 is a satirical novel by the American author Joseph Heller. It is set during World War II from 1942 to 1944, and it uses a distinctive non-chronological third-person omniscient narration, describing events from the points of view of different characters. After reading this book, I think I can analyze it mainly from three aspects.【catch,22】
Before analyzing this masterpiece, it’s of great significance for us to know something about the social background. During the period of World War II, there were some breaking news and serious battles that shocked the Americans greatly. In the meantime, the American people began to suspect the moral principles and traditional values of the society. After the World War II, the Cold War between the East and West began, which was headed by the United States and the Soviet Union. The series of brutal wars and social reality made the American people live in terror and uncertainty. Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 was just born in such a turbulent society.
If we want to understand the book well, firstly we must know the exact meaning of “catch”. It’s widely known that “catch” also means “trap” or “trick” in the English - Chinese dictionary. Here the author used “catch” instead of “regulation” or “rule” to express the meaning of military discipline. Catch-22 actually means an inextricable dilemma or an almost insurmountable obstacle. Yossarian, the protagonist of the book, struggles fairly hard to survive and to escape from that mad world. However, every time he struggles, he finds himself constrained tightly. The Catch-22 is just like a rope around his neck, and the more eager he is to escape, the tighter the rope will be. Joseph Heller adopted a homographic pun. He used “catch” to symbolize the inexorably strong and cryptic power of ruling classes. It is ubiquitous and changeful, which made people oppressive, intense and even horrified. Catch-22 is like a crop circle that people will never escape from. What they can do is just endless struggles in the circle until death.
Secondly, we need to have an insight into the morbid people and the diseased social system. There are many characters and events in this novel. As a result, we may not find integrated contextual clues to the plot. But it’s just this disordered and bizarre
writing technique that created an absurd atmosphere and carried a foreshadowing of the whole novel. Different from the traditional heroic images in novels, Yossarian hasn’t an unflinching heroic spirit. He is a timid soldier without principle and doctrine, and he’s beyond caring about politics. After witnessing several repulsive corruptions in the army, he clearly realizes that it’s not a divine war. If he died, it would not be laying down his life for his motherland, actually sacrificing for those villainous rulers. Joseph Heller remolded the meaning of human existence and showed his humanitarianism solicitude for human destiny, which further highlighted the theme of antihero created by a diseased social system.
Thirdly, the appliance of surrealism is a marvelous writing style of the novel. This style makes the readers laugh and then feel an acerbic satire and also a deep reflection of the social system. Joseph Heller took up black humor for his novel, which subverted the heroic nature in ordinary novels and to some extent, even made the hero ridiculous. The characters, theme, structure and linguistic features are all excellent models of black humor.
In Catch-22, what the author wanted to emphasize was not only the war, but also the personal relationship in the American bureaucratic institutions during hostilities. Joseph Heller molded several absurd and abnormal characters in the absurd world to indicate and satirize the American social reality. To a certain extent, Joseph Heller exposed the darkness of the capitalist social system and also the twisted and distorted hearts of people affected by this social system.
Relevant references:
1. 约瑟夫·海勒：《第二十二条军规》，南京译林出版社【catch,22】
2. 申丹，韩加明，王丽亚：《英美小说叙事理论研究》北京大学出版社
3. 论《第二十二条军规》的反讽艺术：段聪丽 河北师范大学
4. 约瑟夫·海勒《第二十二条军规》的黑色幽默，胡宇 新乡学院学报
5. 西方病态社会的幽默演绎——《第二十二条军规》的思想意义与艺术价值：邹春荣;，罗敏莉 南昌大学学报
Catch-22 (logic)【catch,22】
A Catch-22, coined by Joseph Heller in his novel Catch-22, is a logical paradox arising from a situation in which an individual needs something that can only be acquired by not being in that very situation; therefore, the acquisition of this thing becomes logically impossible. Catch-22s are often spoken with regard to rules, regulations, procedures, or situations in which one has knowledge of being or becoming a victim but has no control over it occurring.
The archetypal Catch-22, as formulated by Heller, involves the case of John Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Forces bombardier, who wishes to be grounded from combat flight evaluated by the squadron's flight surgeon and then found "unfit to fly." ("Unfit" would be any pilot who is actually willing to fly such dangerous missions: as one would have to be mad to want to take on such missions.) But the problem is that to be declared unfit, he must first ask for an evaluation, which is considered as a sufficient proof for being declared sane. These conditions make it impossible to be declared unfit.
The "Catch-22" is that "anyone who wants to get out of combat duty, isn't really crazy"[1] Hence, pilots who request a mental fitness evaluation are sane, and therefore must fly in combat. At the same time, if an evaluation is not requested by the pilot, he will never receive one (i.e. they can never be found "insane"), meaning he must also fly in combat.
Joseph Heller invented the term catch-22 in his novel of the same name. The story is about about World War II soldiers who encounter frustrating situations. For instance, any soldier who is a crazy doesn’t have to fight. All you have to do is ask. But if you’re sane enough to ask, you’re considered sane enough to fight.
More often than not, a catch-22 refers to a situation in which it’s impossible to get the things without having them. Applying for jobs can be a catch-22. You can’t get a job without experience, but you can’t get experience without getting a job.
Therefore, Catch-22 ensures that no pilot can ever be grounded for being insane—even if he were. Real-life examples
Examples of Catch-22 can be found in real life, although none are as hopeless as situations found in the novel. Common examples include the following:
One cannot get a job in a high-profile occupation without prior experience, but one cannot get experience without getting a job in a high-profile area.
Until vendors develop applications for , Linux's market share on the will stagnate. But until the market share of Linux on the desktop rises, no vendor will develop applications for Linux.
One is unlikely to purchase a hydrogen-fueled vehicle without there being a network of hydrogen stations from which to fill up. However, creating a network of hydrogen stations is not viable until there are enough hydrogen vehicles to create the demand.
Americans in both the living room and the boardroom are growing more fearful about the economy,
creating a Catch-22 for the job market: Shoppers will not spend until they feel more secure (as in, being employed), and businesses will not hire until people start spending.
A sports team needs good players to be good; but good sports players will not play on a team unless it is
good.
To hike the Appalachian trail you need a job to pay for it, but to hike it you cannot get time off from your
job
A school doesn't have a bike rack but will get one if students ride their bikes to school, but the students
don't ride their bikes to school because there is no bike rack.
Situations which have logical similarities to a Catch-22.
– real choices exist, but no choice leads to success. – a scenario involving a choice between death of civilians or of the officers who try to
save them.
– a short story involving a princess who must make a decision in a no-win
situation.
– a seemingly unbreakable cycle of causation, which has an unknown origin. – a choice between actions which will all have a detrimental effect on the chooser or
on someone they care for.
– in computing, when two processes reach a standstill or impasse, each waiting for the other to
finish.
– a forced choice between two logically conflicting demands. – the choice between taking an option and not taking it. – a choice between two undesirable outcomes. – anything which, despite being considered to have undesirable qualities, is preferable to its
absence or alternative.
– a choice between two equally unpleasant alternatives. – a statement or group of statements that leads to a contradiction or a situation which defies
intuition.
– Two participants desire a positive outcome by taking an action, yet if taken by both the
result is devastatingly negative.
– a choice between two equally beloved entities, one of which must be destroyed to
preserve the existence of the other.
– a novel by Franz Kafka.
推荐访问: