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Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Catch-22: Violence, or the lack thereof.

Catch-22 comprises of many violent scenes that add to the overall message that is presented in the book. Among are a few, and interestingly, these (totally unnecessary) acts of violence are "friendly fire," rather, committed by the Americans on themselves:

  • "And Snowden lay dying in back." Probably one of the most powerful, heartwrenching scenes in the book, wherein Dobbs loses his mind mid-air and causes the death of Snowden in Yossarian's arms.
  • Kid Sampson is cut in half when McWatt flies his plane too low to the ground.
  • Milo bombs his own squadron by conspiring with the Germans, clashing their army with his own. (All for the syndicate!)

According to How to Read Literature Like a Professor, “Violence, one of the most personal and even intimate acts between human beings, always means something in literature.” There are many violent scenes Although Catch-22 is an antiwar novel, Heller presents his message in a way that is ironic and sarcastic, paradoxically using the black comedy of absurd and unheeded violence to go against violence.

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