The Power Of War In Joseph Heller's Catch-22

In a dearth of soldiers, high demand drafts are called and men get pulled to go fight for their country, however, not all men may fully understand their purpose for defending their country. While many go for the patriotism, the real cause behind emergency drafting may lead soldiers into deeper waters. Although involvement in war can be seen as a nationalistic and prideful for one’s country, the power of war causes naïve individuals to jump in without knowing their real purpose in serving. Government and Media mask the effects and realities of war by playing a façade of an active duty soldier and the enemy. By displaying this they trap new soldiers, as the actual men in combat struggle to survive as it is their primary goal aside from attacking and defeating the enemy. Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, tells a story of John Yossarian, an antihero who risks his life to complete combat missions as he is. The lives of his men and him are dearly important but their decisions are dictated by bureaucracy. “’They’re coming to arrest you. Aarfy, don’t you understand?’…Cars skidded to a stop outside. Spotlights hit the windows immediately. Car doors slammed and police whistles screeched.”(Page 418) This scene depicts that the government harshly controls their consequences from any action the characters take. The characters learn that what they say and do have little consequences for themselves because they will be accused and thrown away anyways. But they still
While he may not be for the war, the façade of bravery and courage is soon washed away with realities of unfairness and the surveillance of the government as they are forced complete tasks. The messages lying in the novel, life is not entirely fair and war is diminishing to its soldiers, are evidentially proved throughout the