"It Was All Yossarian's Fault - Power and Responsibility in Catch-22" - Stephen L. Sniderman
"You Must Remember This: Trauma and Memory in Catch-22 and Slaughter House 5" - Alberto Cacicedo
"The Night Journey in Catch-22" - Minna Dosokow
Sunday, May 4, 2008
The Inferno
Minna Dosokow, an author of a particularly interesting article on Catch-22 that I found, compares the “night journey” through the streets of Rome that Yossarian embarks on in the later chapters as analogous to the journeys into the underworld that are characteristic of epic heroes (such as Aeneus and Dante). Being a Dante fiend, realizing that these chapters are fraught with references to The Commedia made me rather giddy. In this section, Yossarian wanders the streets of Rome in search of Nately’s whore after Milo has deserted him to buy smuggled tobacco products. Yossarian is confronted with an array of horrors that become more gruesome and helpless as his journey continues. Like Dante in Inferno, he is not being subjected to the terrors, yet he is not protected from that wrath they incur on his psyche. Dante at least had the comforting words of Virgil “only fear that which has the power to harm” to preserve his sanity throughout the journey. Yossarian is utterly alone and without any semblance of comfort. He is shown desperate poverty, injustice, and helplessness to horrifying degrees.
Yossarian is able to be in Rome because of his unrelenting refusal to fly more missions. At the time he leaves for Rome, his purpose is a selfish one. He wants to go home so that he can be out of harm’s way. However, by the end of the novel, Yossarian begins to chase a new loftier goal of ending the corruption and ethical perversion in the power infrastructure. Dante is shown Hell in order to regain the “straight way” that he lost in the dark forest of his exile and mid-life crises. The Hell that Yossarian sees is the full extent of the abuses of power that the authorities commit. Police beat an innocent man, and ambulance arrests and innocent man, dogs and children are beaten, and the M.P.’s come not for Aarfy who has raped and murdered the only innocent girl in the officers’ residence, but for Yossarian who is in Rome without leave papers. This is the turning point the novel where the authorities are portrayed and not only arbitrary and absurd, but also cruel and immoral. (744)
Yossarian is able to be in Rome because of his unrelenting refusal to fly more missions. At the time he leaves for Rome, his purpose is a selfish one. He wants to go home so that he can be out of harm’s way. However, by the end of the novel, Yossarian begins to chase a new loftier goal of ending the corruption and ethical perversion in the power infrastructure. Dante is shown Hell in order to regain the “straight way” that he lost in the dark forest of his exile and mid-life crises. The Hell that Yossarian sees is the full extent of the abuses of power that the authorities commit. Police beat an innocent man, and ambulance arrests and innocent man, dogs and children are beaten, and the M.P.’s come not for Aarfy who has raped and murdered the only innocent girl in the officers’ residence, but for Yossarian who is in Rome without leave papers. This is the turning point the novel where the authorities are portrayed and not only arbitrary and absurd, but also cruel and immoral. (744)
M&Ms
Catch-22 exposes the corruption and absurdity of the authority infrastructure in the military in an attempt to demonstrate the horrific futility or war. Milo Minderbinder represents the new ideologies that often arise from war-torn countries that lead to dangerously powerful authoritarian governments. When Germany was devastated from WWI, the power vacuum allowed Hitlet to come to power. Similarly, when Russia was frustrated with a self-serving monarchy, the Bolshevik revolution paved the way for the atrocities of Stalin. Milo Minderbinder starts out as a well-intentioned, low-ranking officer who merely wants to better the lives of his comrades by providing them with quality food. He starts a syndicate that “everyone has a share” in.
Exemption from flying as many missions as the other men gives Milo the opportunity to create a system of importing, exporting, buying, and selling that is too complex for its growth to be slowed. Furthermore, he does not have any other officers fully involved in his system. Since he is the only one who can understand his system, nobody can stop him. As the novel progresses, Milo becomes blinded by the power that he has. For the sake of making profits, he sells ammunition and military supplies to the Germans because “they are loyal customers too”. He even removes the morphine from the first aid kits that the pilots are supplied with. As a consequence, Snowden suffers a very painful death from a fatal wound.
When Yossarian, whom Milo trusts more than any other character in the novel, decides that he is going to find Nately’s whore’s kid sister, he enlists Milo’s help because of the power and influence that he has as a result of his syndicate. As soon as Milo realizes that he has an opportunity to make a profit off of smuggled tobacco products, he takes it instead of helping his loyal friend complete an honorable task. His decision shows the degradation of Milo’s moral fiber and the corruption of his values from absolute power. Yet, Milo covers his ethical perversion with the phrase “what’s good for M&M Industries is good for the country”. Such propaganda is similar to that of the Soviet regime that claimed to be working for the good of the people when in reality its only goal was to stay in power. (381)
Exemption from flying as many missions as the other men gives Milo the opportunity to create a system of importing, exporting, buying, and selling that is too complex for its growth to be slowed. Furthermore, he does not have any other officers fully involved in his system. Since he is the only one who can understand his system, nobody can stop him. As the novel progresses, Milo becomes blinded by the power that he has. For the sake of making profits, he sells ammunition and military supplies to the Germans because “they are loyal customers too”. He even removes the morphine from the first aid kits that the pilots are supplied with. As a consequence, Snowden suffers a very painful death from a fatal wound.
When Yossarian, whom Milo trusts more than any other character in the novel, decides that he is going to find Nately’s whore’s kid sister, he enlists Milo’s help because of the power and influence that he has as a result of his syndicate. As soon as Milo realizes that he has an opportunity to make a profit off of smuggled tobacco products, he takes it instead of helping his loyal friend complete an honorable task. His decision shows the degradation of Milo’s moral fiber and the corruption of his values from absolute power. Yet, Milo covers his ethical perversion with the phrase “what’s good for M&M Industries is good for the country”. Such propaganda is similar to that of the Soviet regime that claimed to be working for the good of the people when in reality its only goal was to stay in power. (381)
Monday, April 21, 2008
A Paradox! A Paradox!
In Catch-22, Joseph Heller conveys his anti-war beliefs by creating scenarios that are paradoxical and absurd. He demonstrates the insanity of those involved in war primarily through the character of Yossarian. The reader is first introduced to him when he is in the hospital (pretending to be ill in order to avoid flying more missions) and censoring letters written by soldiers. Since the number of missions he has to fly is increased every time he is close to completing a tour of duty, he begins to search for loopholes the in military system. In this search, he comes upon “catch-22” which states that a pilot can be grounded if he is insane. However, he has to ask to be grounded and asking to be grounded proves sanity because a desire to avoid harm demonstrates sound mental health.
In the novel, more highly ranked officials are portrayed as either particularly insane or particularly sadistic. Thus far, my personal favorite of these mad higher-ups is Major Major Major Major. This fellow is so cowardly that he cannot even handle being in the presence of any of his fellow soldiers. He instructs his assistant, Sergeant Towser, to only allow people to see him once he has fled the building (another “catch-22” per se). I believe that Heller is using these people and scenarios to demonstrate how the lives of thousands of young men should not be put into the hands of inefficient governments and corrupt, sadistic officials.
The variety of “catch-22”scenarios builds toward a general theme of war itself as a “catch-22”. In order to achieve peace, the opposing sides have to kill each other until they are weary from killing each other. Minor incidents of silliness such as signing false names on documents, en masse feigning diarrhea, absurd names, absurd practices, and tampering with intelligence reports all guide the reader to the realization that the entire war itself is a massive farce. (316)
In the novel, more highly ranked officials are portrayed as either particularly insane or particularly sadistic. Thus far, my personal favorite of these mad higher-ups is Major Major Major Major. This fellow is so cowardly that he cannot even handle being in the presence of any of his fellow soldiers. He instructs his assistant, Sergeant Towser, to only allow people to see him once he has fled the building (another “catch-22” per se). I believe that Heller is using these people and scenarios to demonstrate how the lives of thousands of young men should not be put into the hands of inefficient governments and corrupt, sadistic officials.
The variety of “catch-22”scenarios builds toward a general theme of war itself as a “catch-22”. In order to achieve peace, the opposing sides have to kill each other until they are weary from killing each other. Minor incidents of silliness such as signing false names on documents, en masse feigning diarrhea, absurd names, absurd practices, and tampering with intelligence reports all guide the reader to the realization that the entire war itself is a massive farce. (316)
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
The Unknown Citizen - W.H. Auden
He was found by the Bureau of Statistics to be
One against whom there was no official complaint,
And all the reports on his conduct agree
That, in the modern sense of an old-fashioned word, he was a
saint,
For in everything he did he served the Greater Community.
Except for the War till the day he retired
He worked in a factory and never got fired,
But satisfied his employers, Fudge Motors Inc.
Yet he wasn't a scab or odd in his views,
For his Union reports that he paid his dues,
(Our report on his Union shows it was sound)
And our Social Psychology workers found
That he was popular with his mates and liked a drink.
The Press are convinced that he bought a paper every day
And that his reactions to advertisements were normal in every way.
Policies taken out in his name prove that he was fully insured,
And his Health-card shows he was once in a hospital but left it cured.
Both Producers Research and High-Grade Living declare
He was fully sensible to the advantages of the Instalment Plan
And had everything necessary to the Modern Man,
A phonograph, a radio, a car and a frigidaire.
Our researchers into Public Opinion are content
That he held the proper opinions for the time of year;
When there was peace, he was for peace: when there was war, he went.
He was married and added five children to the population,
Which our Eugenist says was the right number for a parent of his
generation.
And our teachers report that he never interfered with their
education.
Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd:
Had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard.
One against whom there was no official complaint,
And all the reports on his conduct agree
That, in the modern sense of an old-fashioned word, he was a
saint,
For in everything he did he served the Greater Community.
Except for the War till the day he retired
He worked in a factory and never got fired,
But satisfied his employers, Fudge Motors Inc.
Yet he wasn't a scab or odd in his views,
For his Union reports that he paid his dues,
(Our report on his Union shows it was sound)
And our Social Psychology workers found
That he was popular with his mates and liked a drink.
The Press are convinced that he bought a paper every day
And that his reactions to advertisements were normal in every way.
Policies taken out in his name prove that he was fully insured,
And his Health-card shows he was once in a hospital but left it cured.
Both Producers Research and High-Grade Living declare
He was fully sensible to the advantages of the Instalment Plan
And had everything necessary to the Modern Man,
A phonograph, a radio, a car and a frigidaire.
Our researchers into Public Opinion are content
That he held the proper opinions for the time of year;
When there was peace, he was for peace: when there was war, he went.
He was married and added five children to the population,
Which our Eugenist says was the right number for a parent of his
generation.
And our teachers report that he never interfered with their
education.
Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd:
Had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard.
Unknown Possibilities?
W.H. Auden’s poem The Unknown Citizen was written as an epitaph on the monument of a citizen who was identified as “JS/07 M 378”. The poem is satirically glorifying the “typical citizen” from the perspective of government organizations. Throughout his life, Auden held radically left political views. The Unknown Citizen is perhaps a reflection of his politics and beliefs that a government should do more to ensure the happiness and well being of its citizens instead of functioning as an impersonal, purely rational entity. The piece also alludes to possibilities about the true quality of life about the unknown citizen.
The poem states that there was no “official” complaint against this man. The word “official” implies that he was never arrested or in any sort of legal trouble. Auden purposely uses the word for those connotations to show that the government that is glorifying this man has no idea if his friends or family had any troubles with him or cares for him. In his work in the factory whereby he “satisfied” his employers, he was unexceptional and likely mediocre. He did nothing to distinguish himself because he did not kowtow to his employers (he was not a scab) and he was not excessively loyal to his union though he paid his dues (he was not odd in his views). The mention of his career shows a glorification of mediocrity. Since he is not unemployed or destitute, he is not using government services or any of the public coffers to make ends meet. His lower to middle class status also signifies that he did not have enough money or power to have any profound affect on the world around him. Therefore, his existence was “neutral”. He did not make the world any better or any worse.
His “popularity with his mates” really says very little about his social status. We do not know how many friends he had, if he had healthy, fulfilling relationships with them, or if they were morally reprehensible people. Since he liked to drink, he could have been an alcoholic drowning his sorrows in substance abuse. His buying a paper every day, having normal reactions to advertisements, and holding the proper political opinions shows that he was easily manipulated by the press (in this case, likely a tool of government) and did not form his own interpretations of the world around him in spite of being informed of current events. He was the perfect citizen of a powerful government because he did not try to resist the status quo in any way that we know of.
The final two lines sarcastically reveal how material possessions (“everything necessary to the modern man”) and being a good citizen do not ensure individual happiness. In terms of his freedom, it is unclear whether or not the unknown citizen is living a life that he chose for himself. We do not know if he had any desire to ascend beyond mediocrity and achieve greatness. Circumstances, poverty, or an oppressive government could have prevented him from living in a manner that he found most suitable.
The government that he was living under only wanted to ensure that he maintained a healthy degree of patriotism and did not cause any trouble. The unknown citizen never did anything to distinguish himself from the masses and the speaker of the poem implies that such behavior made him the ideal citizen. The speaker implies that the unknown citizen had no hopes and dreams beyond being an average member of the populace. If he had any other plans for his future, the poem implies that carrying them out would not have been possible because he was suffocatingly bound to the values of society. Had he been living in a society where discovering individual happiness was valued, he could have created a life for himself that would have been better than average. (645)
The poem states that there was no “official” complaint against this man. The word “official” implies that he was never arrested or in any sort of legal trouble. Auden purposely uses the word for those connotations to show that the government that is glorifying this man has no idea if his friends or family had any troubles with him or cares for him. In his work in the factory whereby he “satisfied” his employers, he was unexceptional and likely mediocre. He did nothing to distinguish himself because he did not kowtow to his employers (he was not a scab) and he was not excessively loyal to his union though he paid his dues (he was not odd in his views). The mention of his career shows a glorification of mediocrity. Since he is not unemployed or destitute, he is not using government services or any of the public coffers to make ends meet. His lower to middle class status also signifies that he did not have enough money or power to have any profound affect on the world around him. Therefore, his existence was “neutral”. He did not make the world any better or any worse.
His “popularity with his mates” really says very little about his social status. We do not know how many friends he had, if he had healthy, fulfilling relationships with them, or if they were morally reprehensible people. Since he liked to drink, he could have been an alcoholic drowning his sorrows in substance abuse. His buying a paper every day, having normal reactions to advertisements, and holding the proper political opinions shows that he was easily manipulated by the press (in this case, likely a tool of government) and did not form his own interpretations of the world around him in spite of being informed of current events. He was the perfect citizen of a powerful government because he did not try to resist the status quo in any way that we know of.
The final two lines sarcastically reveal how material possessions (“everything necessary to the modern man”) and being a good citizen do not ensure individual happiness. In terms of his freedom, it is unclear whether or not the unknown citizen is living a life that he chose for himself. We do not know if he had any desire to ascend beyond mediocrity and achieve greatness. Circumstances, poverty, or an oppressive government could have prevented him from living in a manner that he found most suitable.
The government that he was living under only wanted to ensure that he maintained a healthy degree of patriotism and did not cause any trouble. The unknown citizen never did anything to distinguish himself from the masses and the speaker of the poem implies that such behavior made him the ideal citizen. The speaker implies that the unknown citizen had no hopes and dreams beyond being an average member of the populace. If he had any other plans for his future, the poem implies that carrying them out would not have been possible because he was suffocatingly bound to the values of society. Had he been living in a society where discovering individual happiness was valued, he could have created a life for himself that would have been better than average. (645)
Sunday, March 9, 2008
I like my own little world. . . they know me there
Upon finishing August Wilson’s Fences I saw it primarily as a play about a very selfish man thwarting the dreams and desires of those around him. However, most of Troy’s actions are motivated by his own illusions that manifest themselves as selfishness. His dramatic tale that he feels exemplifies his life is his story of wrestling with death and the devil when in reality he had survived a severe episode of pneumonia. His interpretations of death and the devil are both obstacles to his achieving his own dreams. He says that his abusive father was “the devil himself”. Since he had to migrate north and live on the streets, his father was largely responsible for crushing his dreams. Troy’s description of the devil as a figure with a sickle in a white, hooded robe is similar to a KKK member in full regalia. The grip reaper-esq character he describes personifies racist discrimination, which is a force that he sees as ever-present and unconquerable, much like death itself.
Troy seems extremely hypocritical when he does not allow his son Cory to play football because he does not want him to suffer from discrimination while trying to become the first African-American garbage truck driver himself. Troy sees this behavior as fighting that hooded figure of death and discrimination. He becomes a garbage truck driver to fend it off while keeping Cory out of football to protect him from it. In the end, however, he crushes Cory’s dreams of becoming a professional athlete much like his own father (the devil) did. His death is also symbolic of his fight with the devil because he has a sudden cardiac arrest while holding a baseball bat in preparation to swing, as though he were challenging death.
Troy’s brother, Gabriel, acts as a foil to Troy’s illusions of death and the devil. Though Gabriel does not have all of his mental faculties intact, he is loving and forgiving in spite of the way he is treated and perceived. At the end when Gabriel attempts to blow his trumpet to open the gates of Heaven, he is trying to give Troy ultimate forgiveness as though to show that he has not succumbed to the devil. Through the cryptic dance and ambiguous ending, I think August Wilson wanted the reader to decide whether or not Troy overcame his illusions by making it into Heaven of if he surrendered to them. (402)
Troy seems extremely hypocritical when he does not allow his son Cory to play football because he does not want him to suffer from discrimination while trying to become the first African-American garbage truck driver himself. Troy sees this behavior as fighting that hooded figure of death and discrimination. He becomes a garbage truck driver to fend it off while keeping Cory out of football to protect him from it. In the end, however, he crushes Cory’s dreams of becoming a professional athlete much like his own father (the devil) did. His death is also symbolic of his fight with the devil because he has a sudden cardiac arrest while holding a baseball bat in preparation to swing, as though he were challenging death.
Troy’s brother, Gabriel, acts as a foil to Troy’s illusions of death and the devil. Though Gabriel does not have all of his mental faculties intact, he is loving and forgiving in spite of the way he is treated and perceived. At the end when Gabriel attempts to blow his trumpet to open the gates of Heaven, he is trying to give Troy ultimate forgiveness as though to show that he has not succumbed to the devil. Through the cryptic dance and ambiguous ending, I think August Wilson wanted the reader to decide whether or not Troy overcame his illusions by making it into Heaven of if he surrendered to them. (402)
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