Plot Overview

Briefly, but using the entire space, discuss the plot,

conflict, and rising action to summarize the plot.
Use your own words.

The story starts in a hospital during World War

II on an island called Pianosa. Captain John
Yossarian of the 256th Squadron of the Army Air
Forces lies about his side hurting and his liver very
ill so that he would not have to fly more missions.
Stationed alongside his crew members such as
Dunbar, a soldier covered in white gauge called the
soldier in white and the Texan who he does not
like. After leaving the hospital, Yossarian returns to
his camp where other crew members camp. As the
story progresses, we learn about the other
squadrons personalities and pasts like Orr, his tent
mate. Orr can be considered as a mechanical
genius who enhances the little things in life sort of
like life hacks. Yossarians young co-pilot, Nately,
who falls in love with a prostitute in Rome later on in
the story.Doc Daneeka who tells Yossarian about
Catch-22. A paradox where the victim cannot
escape a dilemma because of certain rules
describes Catch-22. Yossarian proves that he does
anything to cancel a mission so he does not have to
bomb people and witness his friends die. For
instance, Yossarian postpones a mission by moving
a bombing line out of place on a map to confuse the
troops. Throughout the story, readers will notice that
the setting and time changes from flashbacks to
Yossarians first mission. During Yossarians first
mission in 1944, he describes himself as an
amateur bomber missing his first target. During the
mission, a man named Kraft was killed in action.
Later on, Yossarian advances as a Captain and
receives a medal, although the death of the man
haunts him. During another bombing run, the
enemies firing at Yossarians plane overwhelmed the
squadron and in result, his friend, Snowden, died in
Yossarians arms after getting hit by bullets.
Yossarians tent mate,Orr, was considered missing
in action after his plane was shot down. The deaths

About the Author

Include important information about the author. You
may want to include what inspired them, other
works they have written, significant life events, what
time period he or she wrote in, and how the time
period influenced the writing.
Joseph Heller was born in New York in May 1,
1923. His parents were Jewish immigrants who
came from Russia. During his childhood, Heller
loved to write and was sent to the army. he joined
the U.S. Army Air Corps. and flew about sixty
combat missions. His experience in the air force
might have inspired the setting and plot of "Catch22". After the war, Heller expanded his college
experience and later began teaching and
copywriting. One day, he blurred out lines of a book
he wanted to create. and immediately loved the
story. The first draft of the story was called Catch18. Writing in the era of the baby boomers, where
most of the people are born after World War II and
were considered hippies. "Catch-22" caught the
baby boomers interest because of how the book
and characters resented war also. The book sold
about ten million copies in the U.S. which made it in
the top 100 novels in the century and generated a
movie in 1962 that made Joseph Heller a
millionaire. Some of his other literary works include
"Something Happened" and "Closing Time".
"Closing Time" tells the story about the characters
in "Catch-22" living in New York after the war. His
process of writing a novel seemed unorthodox. He
does not work on a novel until he writes the first and
last lines of the story. Heller later suffers from a
illness that leaves him temporarily paralyzed.
However, it does not stop him from making great
literary works. He made "No Laughing Matter"
which was an autobiography and told the last
chapters of his life. After completing his last novel
"Portrait of an Artist, as an Old Man", on December
1999, Heller died of a heart attack. "Oh, God, how
terrible. This is a calamity for American literature"
says Kurt Vonnegut hearing of his friend's tragic
death.

Novel Notes
Catch-22
Joseph Heller
Ras Hipolito
25 August 2015

Essential Quotes
Add two quotes that capture the essence of the
novel. Be sure to cite the quotations properly.
Im not running away from my responsibilities. Im
running to them. (Heller 440).
Im cold, Snowden moaned(439).

Add Work Cited Here: Joseph Heller Biography

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/c/catch22/josep
h-heller-biography
Baby Boomer
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/baby_boomer.
asp
Catch-22 Plot Overview
http://www.shmoop.com/catch-22/summary.html

of Yossarians friends haunts him throughout the

story. It affects his decision making and forces him
to be afraid of taking missions. During the crew's
trip to Rome, they get to enjoy the little things in life
like partying, finding love, and drinking away their
problems. Young Nately has an argument with an
old man who reminds him of his father about the
outcome of the war. The idea of Catch-22 pops up
in the argument when the old timer says that no
matter how strong America will be, it will be
destroyed no matter what. Believing in patriotism,
young Nately gets furious at the old man and curses
at him. The squadrons mess officer, MIlo, stirs up
trouble back at the camp. Being an entrepreneur, he
invests the crews money for his own evil deeds. By
buying things from the black market, he invests in a
wide arrange of consumables and goods. He will do
anything for his profit. For example, he once set up
a bombing on his own base to make more money.
The squadron and other generals do not notice his
actions throughout the story. McWatt,who is known
for flying dangerously low, encounters a freak
accident by the beach. He splits a person in half
with his plane. Natelys addiction to his prostitute
forces him to do more missions so that he can be
with her more. However, his actions led to his
demise. He died in one of his missions. The deaths
of Yossarians friends drives Yossarian to his lowest
point of his depression. What will Yossarian do
next?

Historical Context
Include information on the time period, social,
economical, cultural, and other significant
influences that characterize this novel.
Joseph Heller wrote Catch-22 in 1953 and was lat
er published in 1964 during the baby boomer era.
the baby boomer era consisted of families who are
ready to have babies after the Wolrd War II. The
novels settings were similar to Hellers time in the
Air Force where he flew planes like the main
protagonist, Yossarian. It is said that the baby
boomers produced about seventy seven million
babies in the U.S. alone (Breaking down Baby
Boomer. The increase in population demanded
more sales and might have led to the success of the
books sales. Taking place in World War II, baby
boomers might have been interested about learning
about the significant past by reading a satirical
version of it by Joseph Heller. During the release of
Catch-22, about ten million novels were bought
throughout the U.S. Heller ridiculed the militarys
greed and corruption which might have caught the
interest of the people during that era.

Character Analysis

Identify each major character in the novel.

Describe the most import traits that characterize
this person. (Speech, Thoughts, Effects on other,
Action, Looks)

Yossarian : John Yossarian of the 256th squadron of

the Army Air Force is the story's main protagonist.
He can be considered by many to be an antihero.
He believes that sacrificing yourself for others and
bravery will not make him a hero. Even though he is
considered to be a great and loyal friend by his
squadron, but he will do any means necessary to go
back home. Faking illnesses and sabotaging a map
in order to postpone missions proves his smart and
uncanny abilities. Death lingers around him
throughout the story. As his closest friends die one
by one, it takes a toll on his mentality. He forces
himself to go AWOL after not being able to handle
the deaths of his friends that haunts him.

Nately : Being one of the youngest in the squadron

at nineteen years old, young Nately has a lot of
maturing to do. In the story, he takes control of
being Yossarians co-pilot. However, Nately values
romance more than anything else. He falls in love
with a prostitute in Rome and will do anything for a
chance to see her. Nately being too young to
understand that the prostitute only wants his money
rather than his love, he flies more missions in order
to get a chance to see her again. However, his
addiction lead to his demise. He later dies on one of
his extra missions which takes a toll on his friend,
Yossarian.

MIlo Minderbinder : Milo Minderbinder takes the

position as the squadrons mess hall officer. He is
considered to be the novels antagonist.
Minderbinder secret runs a black market trade
which makes him very rich. Caring about money
more than his squadron, he will do anything to
increase his profit. Believing that he is not evil, he
considers himself to live by a strict code. He invest
from cotton to eggs and even to prostitutes. He

Themes

Motifs and Symbols

Identify and analyze some of the significant themes

in the novel.

Identify and interpret some of the major motifs and

symbols in the novel.

Power : Power plays a key role in the novel. The

author uses satire to describe the government and
military only caring about more money and more
power. For instance, Milo Minderbinder offers a deal
to the enemies that results in a bombing in his own
base just to increase his profits.

Hospital : The starting setting of the novel takes

place in a refuge hospital for the soldiers. The
hospital symbolizes a safe haven and an escape
from life endangering missions to Yossarian.
Yossarian realizes that he can fake an incurable
liver illness so that he does not have to return to the
front lines of war.

Fear of Death: Many of the characters in the novel

are afraid to die because of what they believe in
and they do not want to lose what they have. Some
value romance more than death like young Nately
who flies more missions to see his prostitute.
Others just want to escape the military and to not
die like Yossarian who witnesses death all around
him. His friends dying takes a toll on him and
haunts him throughout the story. He witnesses
soldiers getting cut in half, Snowden dying in his
arms, and young Natelys death which forces him to
raise to white flag.
Love and Lust : While partying their worries away,
some of the soldiers have meaningful relationships
or just have sex in Rome. Yossarian, for instance,
enjoys having sex with people he just met. Although
Yossarians love life is not stated in the story, but
falls in love with everyone who is with him in bed.
Nately, on the other hand, gets too carried away
with a prostitute he met in Rome. Although the
prostitute only cares about his money, he does
anything for a chance to see her again. Nately flies
more missions than necessary so that he can be
excused to visit his prostitute. This obsession led to
his death. Love makes you do crazy things.
Deception : Deception happens from the beginning
to the end of the novel. For example, Yossarian
fakes a liver illness so that he can be excused from
action and not have to fly more life endangering
missions. However, he only lies to protect his own

Soldier in White : In the hospital, the crew members

notices a new patient covered in white gauge. They
called him the Soldier in White. The deceased
soldier symbolizes what the war will do to soldiers.
Covered from head to toe, he looks like he suffered
every injury there is. He might also symbolize how
much the military care for their soldiers.
Catch-22 : A paradox where no one will escape their
hardships. Explained by Doc Daneeka, Catch-22 is
a paradox where no one will ever receive an
outcome because of contradictory rules. Lots of
characters experience Catch-22. Yossarian faces a
problem when he wants to leave the army, but will
have to be put to court because of his actions or be
forced to say something nice about the military to
earn his discharge.

even goes as far as signing with the enemy to order

an air raid over his on base to increase his profits.
the worst thing about it, he is considered to be a
hero by others for his peers because being forgiven
after making a huge profit. The authors use of
satire strengthens this characters personality which
ridicules some nations government and armies as
corrupted.

life. The military alters news to makeself profit to

make them look good on the newspaper. Milo
Minderbinder is a prime example for deception. In
order to increase his profit and gain more assets, he
makes a deal with the enemies to bomb his own
base and men.