Catch 22 : Part 2

"A. Trust me, the next thing I say is true.
B. Okay.
A. The last thing I said was false. B. Umm..."

Catch 22 is a common idiomatic usage meaning " no win situation" . The novel has really turned my head .. up and down. The novel is about the absurdity and self-perpetuating insanity of bureaucracies. There are many themes depicted in this novel like the only way to survive in an insane system is to be insane oneself, the other one that bad men rise in ranks and gain money!!

In the initial chapters ,we come upon a number of Air Force officers in a hospital . Every chapter in the novel tells us about each character and its important to relate each and every event to understand the idea behind. We come across Captain John Yossarian, who is in this Italian island (Pianosa) during World War II and is desperate to stay alive , while many of his fellow officers are not worried at all about there survival. There is always a seen of confusion prevailing in the hospital where each character is shown to behave stupidly.

Well in the novel, the innocent are targeted and there is no proper justice . Yossarian's squadron is forced to fly more than double the number of missions prescribed by Air Force code.
In the whole novel , story revolves around the Yossarian and how he is the witness of the destruction of all his closest friends, until finally his fear of death becomes so intense that he refuses to wear a uniform. After this , Yossarian's logic becomes so pure that everyone thinks him mad, for it is the logic of sheer survival, dedicated to keeping him alive in a world where everyone is ready to kill him.

Often I would get bored reading it, but the book is worth reading .Novel is written in a very confusing way , there is non-linear ordering of the story, and the reader must pay close attention while reading to understand the order of events there are many flashbacks , and story again reorient itself without a notice.

~Apurva