Catch-22

Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 is considered to be a classic, a novel that everyone should read in his/her lifetime. A “classic” novel is usually thought to be an old novel, written in beautiful language. It has an underlying, usually moral, theme, it often contains a tragic element, and it is sometimes difficult to understand at first. In the beginning of Catch-22, I was thrown off. The book was nothing like I thought it would be. It didn’t seem to have any of the usual characteristics of a “classic.” However, the farther I read in Catch-22, the more I started to understand that the novel did have many of the characteristics of a “classic”, but it manifested them in a different way. In fact, I realized that almost every element in Catch-22 has an irony of sorts, a way of following the rules but breaking them at the same time.

One paradoxical element in Catch-22 is the theme of the novel. It seems that the novel is disjointed, a series of stories in no apparent order with no apparent meaning. However, the one theme that ties them together is actually a relatively common topic, the meaninglessness of war. Many books have been written on this topic, including a few “classics” (All Quiet On The Western Front), but Catch-22 adds elements of humor and irony to give new life to the old theme. He shows the senselessness of war by showing an actual law that makes no sense. The infamous “Catch-22” states that “a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind.” It goes on to say that the only way to escape flying in a mission is if one is considered to be insane. If one is insane, all one has to do is request to be grounded, and he/she would not have to fly. However, the paradox is that if one requests to not fly, he must obviously be sane, since only a sane person would realize the danger. This paradox is simple yet complex, and is circular in its reasoning. One can think about this problem for hours on end, and yet in the end, there is no meaning whatsoever. All the law really says is that there is no way to escape. It is amusing to think about from the outside, but the characters in the book, most notably Yossarian, are the ones that are effected by the law, and they are good and stuck in this situation. The “catch-22” gives a feeling of helplessness to all those entangled in its web. It is like the war itself- it is meaningless and nonsensical to everyone with a brain, but it continues on in spite of this and ensnares all who are foolish enough to take part in it.

Hamlet Question

In his most famous soliloquy, what course of action does Hamlet contemplate? How does he resolve his internal argument?

In the speech, Hamlet asks the question, “To be or not to be?” This is perhaps one of the most well-known quotes of all time, and not without good reason. The famous line, and the entire speech, contemplate the ideas of life and death, and whether it is possible to escape one’s troubles by dying. Is it better to fight through a life full of trials and troubles, or is it better to escape one’s trials through death? Though death presents a kind of escape from the challenges of life, it also takes away all possibilities of happiness. Death is a final choice, and if one chooses death, he chooses to lose the good as well as the bad. As Hamlet tells us, “For in that sleep what dreams may come?” In the end, Hamlet concludes that death is not the answer, for there are many possible good things that may be in the future.

Oedipus's Fate

Sophocles is able to rework the classic story of Oedipus into a play form, and in doing so, gives the story of Oedipus new life and new relevance. The story of Oedipus seems to be perfectly fit to be told in a play format, and this is partly due to the skillful adaptations of Sophocles. Instead of only utilizing monologues, Sophocles used dialogue to his advantage. While a monologue is useful in describing a situation, dialogue shows what is actually happening in present time and creates a life-like situation and interaction. Sophocles also, wisely, relies on Dramatic Irony to build much of the anticipation of the play. Since “Oedipus the King” is a tragedy, it lends itself very well to a dramatic portrayal on stage, and dramatic irony plays a large part in that. Throughout the play, the entire audience knows what Oedipus does not, and the anticipation of the final revealing of the secret is what gives the play much of its popularity.

In the story itself, I was also fascinated by the idea of the inescapability of fate. After the prophecy was made by the soothsayer, Oedipus is sent away and several measures are taken to ensure that Oedipus would not fulfill his destiny of killing his father. However, he eventually the prophecy eventually ends up coming true, due to a series of events that are against all odds. Oedipus just happened to hear that his parents were not who he thought they were, he just happened to be journeying to Delphi to find his true fate, and he just happened to be at the exact crossroad at the exact time that his biological father was. Oedipus was actually fleeing his childhood home to try and escape his fate. Little did he know that he was actually walking right into it. His fate was inescapable, and no matter how hard he tried to thwart his fate, he was destined for doom.

Overall, Sophocles weaves together technical ability and a compelling story to create a play that will be remembered always.

Everything Will Be Alright

Rays of sunlight stream through the curtains, and, unable to ignore them any longer, I stretch and roll over in the plush white bed. At the sound of my waking, a uniformed butler comes over and offers me a choice of breakfasts. I select one (French toast and strawberries) and start to plan my day. I could go for a swim in the lake… or maybe just sunbathe on its shores. I could go into town later and browse through the shops. There’s a delightful ice cream place in the town square… I could stop by on the way back to the villa. They all sound wonderful, so I shall fit them all into my day. I climb out of my canopy bed and pull on my silk robe. As I head to the wardrobe to choose my clothing for the day, I hear an insistent knocking on my door. Irritated, I ignore it. To my chagrin, the knocking continues. A sense of foreboding grows in the pit of my stomach, though I do not know why. I do not want to open that door. I will just ignore it, I tell myself, but the knocking continues, and gets louder, and louder, until I am unable to ignore it, but still, I try, because if not…

I wake up to the beeping of oxygen machines as the nurse at the door calls out, “Caroline, can I come in?” All in a flash, the canopy bed is gone, the butler is gone, and the villa is gone. In its place are the cramped hospital bed, a too-chipper nurse, and the cracked plaster ceiling of the hospital. I close my eyes for a second more, longing to return to the life in which my biggest worry was my choice of breakfasts. Four months ago, I had no idea what a CT Scan was. Now I have learned that I have a tumor in my brain, and that I have only several months to live.

I do not want to die. I am scared to die. I am scared by the hushed whispers of the doctors outside of my room. It is very serious, they say. She does not have much time left.

I am momentarily overwhelmed by the rush of emotions, as I am every morning, and I struggle to control the rising panic in my chest. I take several deep breaths, and welcome the nurse in so she can administer the morning tests. However, I have not controlled myself as well as usual, and the nurse notices me shaking in her grasp.

“Don’t be afraid,” she tells me, “After this, everything will be alright.” She gives me several shots, and walks out of the room.

I sit thinking about what the nurse said. “After this, everything will be alright.” She was talking to me about my shots, but her words seemed to have much greater meaning. ‘This’ was not just the shot, ‘this’ was my life now. ‘This’ referred to the constant struggle and pain that I had experienced these past few months, the struggle and pain that had never appeared in my former life. After my life, everything will be alright. Suddenly, my fear of death evaporates. Though I am young, and would have had my whole life ahead of me, death would relieve me of my suffering. Death will claim all of us eventually, whether it is now or later, it doesn’t matter. Death would be just like sleeping, and God knows that I need a rest. My bones, my body, and my soul are weary. There is no sense in being afraid of Death. Death is just the last hurdle in the race of life, and afterwards, everything will be alright. So I close my eyes and wait for death to retrieve me.

Sorting Out His Thoughts

When I first started to read the book Waiting for the Barbarians, I was instantly entranced by its unique style. The book is told from the Magistrate’s point of view, and therefore the literary style is a reflection of the way that the Magistrate’s mind works. The book is distinguished by a very descriptive style, and the descriptions are not always positive. What I most noticed was the fact that the Magistrate described his experiences in what could sometimes be considered a brutally honest manner. He did not sugarcoat his impressions, even when they were about himself or his actions. When talking about the girl that he has taken into his household, he is particularly blunt with his descriptions. He mentions that, “I undress her, I bathe her, I stroke her, I sleep beside her- but I might equally well tie her to a chair and beat her, it would be no less intimate.”(42) This bluntness is indicative of his trying to figure things out for himself. He is confused about many things in his life, and he seeks to understand these things fully. The Magistrate’s uninfluenced descriptions are as much for his sake as they are for the reader’s sake. He describes things in as accurate a manner as he can, because his descriptions allow him to lay out his thoughts in a sensible manner. In his quest for understanding, he lays out all of the facts and then tries to make sense of them.

In the second section, the Magistrate seeks to understand more about the blind girl. Why is she blind, how was she tortured, why is he so entranced by her, what did she look like before the disfigurations- it seems like he wishes to know everything about this girl in order to achieve a deeper understanding of her essence. He mentions that he does not know why or even if he is attracted to her, saying that “she is ugly, ugly.” (46) Yet he still does not know why he is fascinated by her. His brusque descriptions show the reader of his deep confusion, and of his desire to know for certain the workings of the inner mind.

Changing Definitions

- The book Heart of Darkness is often a controversial text because of its alleged endorsement of racism
- However, one cannot call the book “racist” or “imperialist” without clearly defining what these terms mean and what they meant at the time of the book
- At the time that Conrad was writing the novel, the word “racism” did not exist, and although the phenomena of what we would call racism was definitely present, there was not a consciousness of racism as there is today
- People thought about the subject of race in very different terms than we do today
- One reason the word “racist” was not in existence was because, at the time, thinking in terms of race was so widespread that it was not considered to be irregular or negative. Therefore, a new word to define it was not needed
- However, words describing negative attitudes towards race were eventually created
- Early definitions of racism pertained to prejudices against different western countries instead of against African Americans
- This type of racism is very different from the “racist” attitudes today
- Conrad also did not consider his novel to be talking about what we would consider to be “imperialism”
- He never uses the word “imperialism” in the book, and the closest he comes is his usage of the word “colonist”
- Basically, meanings of the words “racism” and “imperialism” changed between Conrad’s time and our time
- Therefore, one needs to analyze Heart of Darkness in terms of the significance in its time, as opposed to analyzing it as compared to modern times

Jason is Always Right

Right before Quentin is discovered to be missing, the remaining members of the Compson family are sitting in the kitchen, eating breakfast. Although many may think that the following scene of Quentin’s escape is the most important event of the fourth section, I believe that the preceding scene tells us just as much about their character. Benjy, Dilsey, Mother, and Jason are the only remaining major family members, and their interactions over breakfast present a very detailed picture of how things work in the Compson household. Jason is, or course, the domineering “head of the household,” and everything that he says, goes. After all, who is going to stop him? Benjy is still not developed enough to feed himself, Luster is still a relatively young boy, and Mother, although she is older and could have authority over Jason, thinks that “it is neither [Dilsey’s] place or mine to tell Jason what to do. Sometimes I think he is wrong, but I try to obey his wishes for you all’s sakes” (278). This sentence really bothered me when I read it. If Mother thinks that something Jason does is “wrong”, why does she not try and help him do the right thing instead? And I somehow can’t see Mother doing anything that is truly for someone else’s “sake.” I just cannot understand how Mother can just completely submit her will to Jason’s. Jason even outright insults her, saying that if she cleaned the house, it would look like a “pigsty.” The fact that Mother does not even try to defend herself, and in fact seems to welcome the criticism makes her an even more infuriating character. What do you think is the true reason Mother so willingly submits to Jason? Is it for the sake of keeping the family together, or is it for her personal gain? Is she too feeble-minded to even realize what Jason is doing?