Use Of Satire In Joseph Heller's Catch-22

Joseph Heller demonstrates his unique talent of manipulating words in his satirical historical fiction novel, Catch-22. In capturing the essence of the military during World War II, he unravels what war does to the human psyche. The novel rejects standard logic at every opportunity, causing the use of satire to be all the more effective. To elaborate, the squadron of focus is governed by an absurd bureaucracy. Most notably, is the rule Catch-22. Its name itself already sparks significance as the duplicated numbers are meant to parallel the repetition between character exchanges. This rule specified, “…that a concern’s for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process if a rational mind” (46). Therefore,
by desiring exemption from risky missions on the grounds of insanity, one proved to be sane. If anyone willingly wanted to fly they would be deemed insane. Either way, irrelevant to one’s sanity, they were sent on the missions. This paradox was extended as the number of required missions to be flown were continuously increased.