Power In Joseph Heller's Catch-22

Power, without a doubt, is one of the strongest desires of any person. To be in power, and to control other people is a feeling like no other. It is this feeling that gets in the way of peoples ability to think straight, and as a result misuse the power. Power in the wrong hands can be catastrophic, as demonstrated in Catch-22, written by Joseph Heller. This novel develops the theme of power through, the bureaucracy, Colonel Cathcart, and the syndicate.

The bureaucracy is the most evident form of power in the novel, Catch-22. The bureaucracy was the government that was in place during the Second World War. They made everyone fight in the war, even if it was against their will. They had complete power over everything, and could
Orr was crazy, and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. If he flew them he was crazy and didn’t have to; but if he didn’t want to, he would be sane and had to.”(Heller 57) This quote shows how the bureaucrat controls the men with a clause stating they have to fight missions, no matter what. This supports the theme of power because all the power over the men is given to the bureaucrats, and the men must obey what they say. Another form of power that is shown in this novel is the character of Colonel Cathcart. Colonel Cathcart was one of the highly ranked men in charge, and was a major hypocrite. Colonel Cathcart would interrogate someone because he didn’t like them, in hopes of finding out what he is guilty of from the interrogation. No one was allowed to meet with him, and the only time anyone was allowed in his office was when he wasn’t present. In the text his behavior is evident when it says, “Under Colonel Cathcart’s rule, the only people permitted to ask questions were those who never did.”(Heller 43) This shows how colonel Cathcart abuses his power by doing whatever