Satire In Catch 22 By Elie Wiesel

People convey their opinions about moral and social dilemmas in different ways. Writers use different literary forms to express their ideas. Autobiographical books are one means authors use to convey their personal history. Another style of literary composition is satire. Satire is the use of sarcasm and irony to portray human follies or to ridicule human failings (Stein 1270). Science fiction is a literary form of fiction, which has split from the broader form of fantasy; in which the plot, setting and theme are drawn from scientific knowledge (Benets 876). The autobiographical form used by Elie Wiesel in Night and the form of satirical humor used by Joseph Heller in Catch-22 more effectively depict anti-war themes than the science fiction
Yossarian is one of the few sane people in the book. Throughout the book, the repetition of ridiculous events by the characters promotes the anti-war theme by making war seem absurd. The irrational happenings in Catch-22 are obvious, whether it is when Yossarian is offered to go home with a bundle of medals he has not earned, or when Milo trades away all the parachutes in a business deal. Milo trades all the bombardier 's parachutes away for other goods; he justifies his actions by saying, "not to worry, they 'll be rich by the end of the war" (Napierkowski 96). Milo is an economic mastermind; he uses his position to buy sell and trade goods and services. He turns the army into a corporation, "M & M Enterprises…right before their eyes he had transformed his syndicate into an international cartel" (Heller 264). The exchange between Yossarian and Doc Daneeka is an example of the humorous repetitive structure used by Heller. "Yossarian tries to get out of going on any more dangerous bombing missions by getting the doctor to ground him as unfit for flying" (Muir 970). Yossarian 's circular conversation with Doc Daneeka concerning his craziness for flying missions is humorous and absurd. As Yossarian learns by trying to get the airbase doctor to ground him as unfit for flying, there is a
The latter two books are successful in conveying their anti-war themes. The colorful autobiography of Wiesel and the satirical humor in Catch-22 more effectively portray the obscenities of war than Vonnegut 's Slaughterhouse-Five. Slaughterhouse-Five is fictional and not written with many shocking, colorful descriptions of atrocities, which occurred during WWII as Elie Wiesel 's Night. The science fiction parts of the book are over emphasized. One does not get a truthful account of the happenings of WWII from Slaughterhouse-Five. The Tralfamadorian 's science fiction aspects of the novel dull the anti-war theme. Their beliefs coerce Billy to forget about the war; the Tralfamadorians tell Billy, "one thing Earthlings might learn to do, if they tried hard enough: Ignore the awful times, and concentrate on the good ones" (Vonnegut 117). They also tell Billy, "we spend eternity looking at pleasant moments;" they cannot do anything about the awful times, so they ignore them (Vonnegut 117). The climax of the novel is the fire bombing of Dresden; the reader is aware of this from the start, it is stated in the first chapter. The description of the bombing it is short; one could almost miss it. Billy does not travel back to the event nor does he re-live it, like he does many other less important events. The book 's climax is supposed to be the fire bombing of Dresden;