Catch22 notes and Quizzes Quiz Chapters 1 4

Catch-22 notes and Quizzes

Quiz Chapters 1 -4 A. “Group Headquarters was alarmed, for there was no telling what people might find out once they felt free to ask whatever questions they wanted to. ” B. T. S. Eliot

Notes Chapters 1 -4 § § Dead man in Yossarian’s tent “military business” Dreedle and Moodus Cathcart and skeet shooting Appleby-”All American. ” Iowa, “believed in God, Motherhood and the American Way of Life, without ever thinking about any of them, and everybody who knew him liked him. ” § “They’re trying to kill me. ”

Chapters 1 -4 § Foreshadowing: – Major ---de Coverley: why he has the dash and how he ended up with a transparent eye patch – Why Orr was being beat over the head with the shoe – The dead man in Yossarian’s tent – Mc. Watt entering Doc Daneeka’s name on flight log – Being poisoned – Milo bombing the squadron – Mc Watt flying plane low

Characters § Havermeyer – – – Peanut brittle Shooting mice Pleasure in pain Best bombardier Didn’t take evasive action- vs “The men loved flying behind Yossarian” § Orr – The tent they shared; “furnished all the knowledge” § Hungry Joe – Nightmares – photography

§ Doc Daneeka – Three worries: his health, flight time, and the Pacific Ocean – “Why me? ” his lament and Yossarian was a collector of good questions § Clevinger – “He believed passionately. He was crazy. ” – He views Yossarian as crazy. “They’re shooting at everyone. ”

§ Dunbar – Falls on face in hospital so he can stay – Increase his life span through cultivating boredom, such as skeet shooting – “You’re inches away from death every time you go a mission. How much older can you be at your age? ” – Wants to live

§ Yossarian – “it wasn’t funny at all” § Bombs beings dropped – “They’re trying to kill me. ” § “Living like a bum in a tent” § Hospital; temperature § Texan- represents indoctrination; he did kill the Soldier in White § Ex-PFC Wintergreen – Controls correspondence – Begins T. S. Eliot (Cargill saying it takes brains not to make money; people with talent and brains, name one who makes money)

Catch-22 s § Signing name to censored letters (Washington Irving and Irving Washington) § The only people who are allowed to ask questions are those who never ask questions; no need to “educate people who never questioned anything. ” § USO shows are “voluntary, ” yet they must go “that’s an order!”

Themes § Those in charge: Cargill “Genius for ineptitude”, Dreedle and Peckem “overlords”, Ex-PFC Wintergreen § Policy regarding asking questions § The only way to deal with a crazy situation is to be crazy; the sane ward § Need for self-preservation (“They’re trying to kill me”) § Soldier in White- the fluid; at mercy of system that is killing him

Pathos § “…mounting number of enlisted men and officers who found their way solemnly to Sergeant Towser several times a day to ask if the orders sending them home had come in. There were more of them now than when Yossarian had gone into the hospital, and they were still waiting. They worried and bit their nails. They were grotesque, like useless young men in a depression” (21). § “the tongueless dead men peopled the night hours like living ghosts” (25 -26). Before Bologna

Colonel Cathcart § Celebrated his assumption of command by raising the number of missions required from twenty-five to thirty (48) § “Colonel Cathcart had courage and never hesitated to volunteer his men for any target available” (50). § “was infused with the democratic spirit: he believed that all men were created equal, and he therefore spurned all men outside Group Headquarters with equal fervor” (53).

Colonel Cathcart § “he believed they were at least ten missions better than any other outfit and felt that any who did not share this confidence he had placed in them could get the hell out” (53).

Catch-22 § Definition from Doc Daneeka “a concern for one’s safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind” (40). § Ex-PFC Wintergreen “Catch-22 says you’ve always got to do what your commanding officer tells you to” (53).

Mysteries/Foreshadow § Flying over the target twice (49) Kraft killed, Ferrara, “on the seventh day, while God was resting” (50) § “Snowden lay dying in the back” § Milo Minderbinder’s interest in the black market

Aarfy (Aardvark) § Pipe in hand, puffs it on plane § “Did not have brains enough to be afraid” (44) § Gazes out window with curiosity

Hungry Joe § “crumbled promptly into ruin every time he finished another tour of duty” § “an eaten shell of a human building rocking perilously on the brink of collapse” § “He was a hero now, the biggest hero the Air Force had; had flown six combat tours of duty”

§ Chief White Halfoat – Die of pneumonia – Doc Daneeka is afraid of him – Dreedle loves him – Assistant intelligence office to Black – Racial prejudice terrible thing § Captain Flume – Fears Chief will slit his throat – Thinks he can’t sleep, but does, only dreaming he’s awake, so tired

Milo Minderbinder § § § Will put your mind in a bind Stashes money away “One of these moral principles was that it was never a sin to charge as much as the traffic would bear” (59). Wintergreen is in the market too (60) Syndicate and every man will have a share Exploits the weak

Yossarian’s Fear § “Yossarian longed to sit on the floor in a huddled ball right on top of the escape hatch inside a sheltering igloo of extra flak suits that he would have been happy to carry along with him, his parachute already hooked to his harness where it belonged, one fist gripping the emergency hatch release that would spill him earthward into air at the first dreadful squeal of destruction” (43)

Rationalizes Fear § Yossarian had brains enough to be afraid. § Did not trust evasive action to anyone else; best man in the group at evasive action; “All you needed was fear. ” § Has no parachute because no room; no escape hatch § “No one else he knew was a big enough coward”

Quotes That Make Sense § “”It made sense to cry out in pain every night”(49). § “’If you’re going to be shot, whose side do you expect me to be on? ’” (54).

Yossarian § Benefits of war: pays well and liberates “children” from their parents; kids; boys § “Justice could be satisfied without it (Y’s) premature demise” § “Yossarian could have lived without it” speaking of war.

“Some people are getting killed and a lot more are making money and having fun. Let somebody else get killed. ” “But suppose everybody on our side felt that way. ” “Then I’d certainly be a damned fool to feel any other was. Wouldn’t I? ”

Colonel Scheisskopf § § § What his name means. Obsessed with parades Presents lack of leadership skills; like De Coverley § “To die or not to die, that was the question” § Fails to see individuality – Men, parades, wood planks and alloy swivels

Colonel Scheisskopf § “There were few who did not hail him as a true military genius for his important discovery” (70). § “Don’t you know there is a parade going on” (68). Expect to hear the word war.

Justice and Court Case § Clevinger is a believer in justice. But we see that one of the great American values does not exist amongst what is believed to be the greatest example of patriotism, those who fight for it. § Mc. Carthy hearings § “The case against Clevinger was open and shut. The only thing missing was something to charge him with” (66).

§ Lt. Scheisskopf is one of the judges, the prosecutor and defense. § “Clevinger was guilty, of course, or he would not have been accused, and since the only way to prove it was to find him guilty, it was their patriotic duty to do so” (76).

Feeling of Alienation § At hands of own – Yossarian with Ex-PFC Wintergreen and Catch 22 – “These three men who hated him spoke his language and wore his uniform…that nowhere in the world…were there men who hated him more” (77). – Major

Major’s Father § Farmer paid not to farm § “he had made much money and was therefore wise” § Not a God-fearing man

Major § “…he had observed that people who did lie were, on the whole, more resourceful and ambitious and successful than people who did not lie. ”

Major § § No identity because his name repeats-no identity Flagrant conformist No way to distinguish himself A disguise allows him to hide instead of setting him apart, but even that fails § Only see him when he’s out ( no identity, only when he’s gone is he seen? ) § He won’t see anyone when he’s in – avoiding contact, identity, easier to pretend he doesn’t exist

Dead Man § Killed in mission over Orvieto less than two hours after he arrived § Reported to operations tent instead of orderly room § Towser decides best to report he never reported § Something embarrassing so won’t accept responsibility.

Mortality § The personification of death in Chapter 17 “They had taught her (Death) manners. ” § “There was a much lower death rate inside the hospital than outside the hospital. ”

Covering Themselves § We’re all in this business of illusion together. I’m always willing to lend a helping hand to a fellow conspirator along the road to survival if he’s willing to do the same for me. § Doctors have to take care of sick. “We’ve got to keep ourselves covered in case he dies. ”

§ “It’s just that it looks so damn lousy on the report. ” RE: Yossarian going around twice. Give him a medal and promotion.

I Can’t Hear You § Happens twice, Bologna first time and Aarfy mocking him second time § “He could start screaming inside a hospital and people would at least come running to try to help” (170). And the fact not enough people are screaming. [Hungry Joe does] § A theme

God § Dunbar believes “There is no God. ” § Kraft dies on the seventh day, when God was at rest. § Yossarian and Scheisskopf’s wife debate the God they do not believe in.

Loss of Individuality § “Why can’t they hook the two jars up to each other and eliminate the middleman? What the hell do they need him for? ” § “As far as we’re concerned, one dying boy is just as good as any other, or just as bad. ”

Soldier in White § They “shrank from him with a tenderhearted aversion…They gathered soberly in the farthest recess of the ward and gossiped about him in malicious, offended undertones, rebelling against his presence as a ghastly imposition and resenting him malevolently for the nauseating truth of which he was a bright reminder. ”

Justice § “There just doesn’t seem to be any logic to this system of rewards and punishment. ” § “I’d like to see all these things sort of straightened out, with each person getting exactly what he deserves. It might give me some confidence in this universe. ” § “What’s the justice” “I feel an injustice”

God § Col. Cathcart wanted to be general so badly he was willing to try anything, even religion. § Haven’t you got anything humorous that stays away…from God? § Having the men pray to God probably wasn’t such a hot idea anyway. § Tell them to trust in God.

Chaplain § What does he remind the men of? § There was so much unhappiness in the world and there was nothing he could do about anybody’s, least of all his own § It was one thing to maintain liaison with the Lord, and they were all in favor of that; it was something else, though, to have Him hanging around twenty-four hours a day.

General Dreedle § He believed that the young men who took orders from him should be willing to give up their lives for the ideals, aspirations and idiosyncrasies of the old men he took orders from. § The officers and enlisted men in his command had identity for him only as military quantities

Colonel Cathcart § Not going to waste his time and energy …unless there was something in it for him

§ Place love of country above love of life § Why would a man, soldier, want to do that when the way they are treated is so despicably? They are expendable. There is no justice. Problems with faith (one nation under God)

Yossarian Naked § Why? § Encounter with Milo in the “tree of knowledge” and Eden

Milo Minderbinder § M&M Enterprises § No loyalty- has lack of trust in people because they are corrupt, yet he bombs own squadron and contracts with Germans, not Russians § Profit over people- Mudd’s death § Bribery

Aarfy § Had seemed like a good guy; he wants to protect innocence, but we hear about his college days- criminal § Makes comments similar to Holden- not in the mood, ostracize, the window

Old Man § His philosophy is very interesting § Being poor and weak makes the Italians strong § Losing wars § Do what it takes to survive § He is responsible for throwing the American beauty rose at --de. Coverley

§ “Imagine a man his age risking what little life he has left for something so absurd as a country. ” § Being “gullible and brave” will lead to Nately’s early death. § Turning phrases around on Nately, philosophies of living vs dying

Loss of individuality § Men switching beds, taking on another’s identity; Yossarian wishes he were Yossarian again § “That leg belongs to the U. S. government. It’s no different than a gear or a bedpan. The Army has invested a lot of money to make you an airplane pilot, and you’ve no right to disobey the doctor’s orders. ”

§ “I can’t hear you. ” “Can’t you see me? ” § “Yossarian was dying, and no one took notice. ” § “Say! I think I’ll volunteer the group for Avignon again. That should speed things up!” § Form letters

Chaplain § “He, Chaplain Albert Taylor Tappman, was not just a chaplain but a human being. ” § “It seemed never to have occurred to them that he, just as they, had eyes, hands, organs, dimensions, sense and affections, that he was wounded by their same kind of weapons they were, warmed and cooled by the same breezes and fed by the same kind of food…”

Questioning Faith § “Was there a God? ” § “He was never without misery, and never without hope. ” § “Success was the only virtue. ” § “Crucial to him were the question[s] of kindness and good manners. ” § “The chaplain felt most deceitful presiding at funerals…the apparition in the tree that day was a manifestation of the Almighty’s censure for the blasphemy and pride inherent in his function. ” Feels like a fake.

§ “the wisdom and justice of an immortal, omnipotent, omniscient, humane, universal, anthropomorphic, English-speaking, Anglo-Saxon, pro-American God, which had begun to waver. So many things were testing his faith. ” § “There were no miracles; prayers went unanswered and misfortune tramped with equal brutality on the virtuous and the corrupt; and the chaplain, who had a conscience and character, would have yielded to reason and relinquished his belief in the God of his fathers. ”

Milo § Taking out carbon dioxide from Mae Wests for strawberry and crushed pineapple ice cream sodas § “What’s good for M&M Enterprises is good for the country. ” § Pursuit of the perfect treat

Orr § “Just because they’re small doesn’t mean they’re unimportant. ” § “I guess I’m just about the best pilot around now when it comes to ditching or making crash landings. ” § “Are you trying to tell me something. ” § “Yossarian really had no doubt about Orr’s ability to survive. ”

Inept Leadership § General Peckem provides the insight § “incompetent leadership with which we provide our troops” § The “lowest level” gets the work done § “None of the work we do is very important, it is important that we do a great deal of it. ” § “People have a right to do anything that’s not forbidden by law, and there’s no law against lying to you. ” § “But that’s the way things go when you elevate mediocre people to positions of authority. ”

Which side? § “Dreedle’s on our side, and Dreedle is the enemy. ” § “Another colonel in the area meant another rival, another enemy, another person who hated him. ” Cathcart’s thoughts § “Go on out there and bomb – for me, for your country…”

Snowden § “I’m cold. ” § Yossarian treats the wrong wound.

Fight for Life § Yossarian with Mc. Watt—”No one had a right to take such frightful risks with his life. ” § “Don’t you ever hear me? ” § The beach, Nurse Duckett, what they represent § “He thirsted for life” § Missions raised again!

Covering for Inconvenience § “now he had two dead men on his hands…and Doc Daneeka, who most certainly was there and gave every indication of proving a still thornier administrative problem for him. ”

Emphasis on Money § § § Mrs. Daneeka- “her grief was mitigated” Milo’s international empire Cathcart’s opportunity to seize Milo’s empire

Change in Mood § “There were no more beautiful days. ” § “At night when he was trying to sleep, Yossarian would call the roll of all the men, women, and children he had ever known who were dead. ” § “The number of dead people just seemed to increase. ” § “Death was irreversible, he suspected, and he began to think he was going to lose. ”

What it means to be okay? § About Yo-Yo’s roomies, “He wished that he could be young and cheerful, too. And it wasn’t their fault that they were courageous, confident and carefree. He would just have to be patient with them until one or two were killed and the rest wounded, and then they would all turn out okay. ”

Men being wounded or Killed § Wounded or killed but not while in battle § Thanksgiving- Kolodny shot himself through the leg, others are bleeding, cut fingers and heads, broken bones § Kid Sampson, Mc Watt, Doc Daneeka, Clevinger, Dunbar, Chief White Halfoat, Dobbs, and Nately

Soldier in White § “They’ve stolen him away! He’s hollow inside, like a chocolate soldier. ” § “They’ve stolen him away. ”

Chaplain’s Trial § Reminiscent of Clevinger’s trial § “They might do whatever they wished to him, he realized. ” § “Then why would we be questioning you if you weren’t guilty? ”; “If they’re his crimes and infractions, he must have committed them. ” § “I swear it’s the truth. ” “I don’t see how that matters one way or the other. ”

§ Regarding deaths of 12 men… “I don’t know how we’re going to write this one up without making ourselves look bad. ” § “Immoral logic seemed to be confounding him at every turn. ”

Nately’s Whore § § Marching backwards Bruto! Milo and tobacco; Milo has daughters “[Yossarian] almost welcoming the mortal blow for the peace it would bring. ” § “During the day, they avoided him, even Aarfy, and Yossarian understood that they were different people together in daylight than they were alone in the dark. He did not care about them at all…”

Rome § “Somebody had to stand up sometime to try to break the lousy chain of inherited habit that was imperiling them all. ” § “no craving for wealth or immortality could be so great, he felt, as to subsist on the sorrow of children. ” § “how many good people were bad people? When you added them all up and then subtracted, you might be left with only the children…”

Catch-22 § This is what we are left with if Catch-22 is allowed to rule the world § “Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can’t stop them from doing. ” § “They don’t have to show us Catch-22 The law says they don’t have to. ” § “Catch-22 did not exist, he was positive of that, but it made no difference. What did matter was that everyone thought it existed, and that was much worse, for there was no object or text to ridicule or refute, to accuse, criticize, attack, amend, hate, revile, spit at, rip to shreds, trample upon or burn up. ”

Descriptions § § § Smashed windows, darkness, no lights “tomblike street” “The night was raw. ” “eerie, shimmering glares” “spilling gloom” “The night was filled with horrors…What in the world was happening? ”

Yossarian’s Thoughts § “it was odd how many wrongs leaving money seemed to make right” § “Nothing warped seemed bizarre anymore in his strange, distorted surroundings. ” § “Yossarian walked in lonely torture, feeling estranged. ” § “All the shivering, stupefying misery in a world that never yet had provided enough heat and food and justice for all but an ingenious and unscrupulous few. What a lousy earth!”

§ “How many had never had souls? How many straight and narrow paths were crooked paths? ” § “Yossarian smiled wryly at the futile and ridiculous cry for aid…” § One must cry for aid, such as woman with purse, “I can’t hear you. ” § “His spirit was sick. ”

Aarfy § “They aren’t going to put good old Aarfy in jail. Not for killing her. ” § “You’ve murdered a human being. ” § “You can’t take the life of another human being and get away with it. ” (but the Army has); Yossarian still has some faith in the world § Yossarian arrested and they apologize to Aarfy

The Odious Deal § “The men are unhappy and morale is beginning to deteriorate. And it’s all your fault…Now you’ve given them hope, and they’re unhappy. ” § “I like the way you lie. You’ll go far in this world if you ever acquire some decent ambition. ” § “You’re an intelligent person of great moral character who has taken a very courageous stand. ” § “Won’t you give up your life for colonel Cathcart and me? You’re either for us or against your country”

§ “The important thing is what you say to people here. ” § “Like us. Join us. Be our pal. Say nice things about us here and back in the states. ” § “You’d have to be a fool to throw it all away just for a moral principle. ” § Nately’s whore; he had to be attacked

Doctors § § § Inept doctors Experimenting on men “Let’s give him a total and knock him out. Then we can do what we want with him. ”

While in the hospital § § § “We’ve got your pal. ” “I’ve been praying a lot. ” “Don’t believe the official report. ” It’s a sin to save Cathcart’s life Hungry Joe died, cat on his face

Snowden § Milo taking morphine § Yossarian treats wrong wound § “the grim secret Snowden had spilled all over the messy floor. It was easy to read the message in his entrails. Man was matter, that was Snowden’s secret. Drop him out a window and he’ll fall. Set fire to him and he’ll burn. Bury him and he’ll rot like other kinds of garbage. The spirit gone, man is garbage. That was Snowden’s secret. § How does this relate to the novel?

Yossarian § “I was trying to save my life. ” § “Let him send me home because I flew more than fifty missions and not because I was stabbed by that girl. ” § Various official reports to cover themselves; remember value of lying

Philosophies § Danby- “Obeying their orders is the only contribution I can make to the war effort. ” § “Between me and every ideal I always find Scheisskopfs, Peckems, Korns and Cathcarts. And that sort of changes the ideal” § “You must never let them change your values. Ideals are good, but people are sometimes not so good. You must try to look up at the big picture. ” § “I see people cashing in on every decent impulse and every human tragedy. ”

§ “You must think only of the welfare of your country and the dignity of man. ” § “I’ve been fighting all along to save my country. Now I’m going to fight a little to save myself. ” § “From now on I’m thinking only of me. ” “But suppose everyone felt that way. ” “Then I’d certainly be a damned fool to feel any other way, wouldn’t I? ” § “A person must make decisions. A person can’t live like a vegetable. ” § We buy into the beliefs of institutions, but what do they do to us?

Orr § “It’s still a miracle, a miracle of human intelligence and human endurance. ” § “There is hope” § “I am going to persevere. ” § “You’ll always be alone. No one will ever be on your side, and you’ll always live in danger of betrayal. ” “I live that way now. ” § “I’m not running away from responsibilities. I’m running to them. There’s nothing negative about running away to save my life. ”

Inspiration § Yossarian changes deal and dodges Nately’s whore § Chaplain believes in God again § Chaplain inspired to bother Cathcart and Peckem, punch Black § Escape a system that is killing you, literally and figuratively § Running to responsibility

Anti-hero § Yossarian is an anti-hero § Consider instances where he says “no” to the institution

American Values § Criticism of American values – – – Truth Justice Loyalty Patriotism Religion Practicality vs Ideals Values reversed because of violence of war Values reversed for the few who profit

What is the purpose of Catch-22 § What does it allow someone to do? The wielder of it? § What happens to the victims?

Heller § What would Heller say are the needs of the individual? § One must honor himself; in an absurd universe, the individual has right to seek survival

Themes § Individuality § In a bureaucracy, individuality is lost § Catch-22 § There’s always a catch, catch-22, that… § Moral values § The disintegration of moral values when…

Themes § Capitalism carried to the extreme… § Appearance vs Reality § Things are not always what they seem. § Value of deception § American values § Consider what he says about the values we have as Americans

§ I can’t hear you § The people who are in charge § What happens to moral values in the face of war or an institution § Efficiency § The needs of the individual