ANALYTIC QUESTIONS FOR CATCH-22

1. Define Catch 22!

2. How is the war portrayed in the novel? Is it mythic, sensory, and
parenthetical? Are there any differences in perception of the war among
different characters?
3. Who is the real enemy of American pilots on the island?
4. Read Frye's segments on the alazon (a self-deceiving character) and
pharmakos (scapegoat). Which characters in the novel belong to which
category?
5. Is Yossarian the hero or the antihero of the novel?
6. What is Yossarian fighting for?
7. Write down any military terminology that you do not understand.

ANSWERS

1. a) Catch 22 is any paradoxical circular reasoning that traps its victim in its illlogic, and is
created to help those who made the law in the first place.
b) It's a name given to any policy that benefits people in power. There's no escape
from it because those with authority can compel you to obey, no matter how
ridiculous the rule is.
2. Yossarian is the only character(as well as Dunbar) who sees war as something truly
heinous and perceives it as a reality, while other soldiers seem unaware of the whole
situation. Yossarian is aware that he is constantly in danger and that he could die at
any moment.
Dunbar - Dunbar has decided to live as long as possible by making time pass as slowly
as possible, so he treasures boredom and discomfort.
3. The real enemies are the Colonels.
4. The type of character involved here we may call by the Greek word alazon, which
means impostor, someone who pretends or tries to be something more than he is. The
most popular types of alazon are the miles gloriosus and the learned crank or obsessed
philosopher
Type of alazon: Milo Minderbinder, Colonel Cathcart, Captain Black, Lieutenant Colonel
Korn,
Thus the figure of a typical or random victim begins to crystallize in domestic tragedy
as it deepens in ironic tone. We may call this typical victim the pharmakos or
scapegoat: Snowden
The pharmakos is neither innocent nor guilty. He is innocent in the sense that what
happens to him is far greater than anything he has done provokes, like the
mountaineer whose shout brings down an avalanche. He is guilty in the sense that he
is a member of a guilty society, or living in a world where such injustices are an
inescapable part of existence. YOSSARIAN, The chaplain, Major Danby
5. In a classical way, Yossarian is an anti-hero. He’s not portrayed as a brave soldier, nor
does he have any qualities of a typical hero. He is paranoid about death, tries to escape
missions, is not loyal to the state etc.
But if we look at Yossarian from a modern point of view, he is definitely the most
caring person in the novel. He is always ready to help his friends, he refuses to kill
people recklessly and unnecessarily. He has been scarred by trauma that has changed
his view of the war, but he seems to have been morally stable even before the war.
Considering these facts, Yossarian is a hero.
6. Freedom. Fredoom of mind. He wants to protect the independence of his mind.
7.