One of the most frustrating aspects of the novel is the frequent breakdown of communication. This is a widespread epidemic that affects hierarchical explanation, broad decision-making, and even simple conversation between soldiers. It is often comical, sometimes even resembling an Abbott and Costello routine, but this lack of communication ultimately contributes to a general lack of agency. Many of the difficulties in communication in the novel can be traced to bureaucracy. Many characters are forced to communicate through a middleman, and in many cases, the transmissions are dramatically altered or do not reach their recipients at all. Yossarian edits the letters soldiers are sending home while he is in the hospital, and he takes joy in augmenting them. Ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen does not even relay messages he considers too "prolix," and overseas communiqués never get through because of his preferences. Messages do not always stay the same from source to destination, and even when they do, they are sometimes misinterpreted.
When the men are supposed to bomb Ferrara and Yossarian moves the bomb line so it appears as if the men have already bombed it, the lack of communication leads the men to believe that it actually has been bombed. No one claims full responsibility for the bombing, so no one can disprove its having taken place. Since the men feel very removed from the object of winning the war and accomplishing important goals in that pursuit, they are very happy about this prank. But such an error can lead to other men dying because they do not receive the support they need. Though this reversal of cause and effect seems comical, it has real consequences that are very serious. Though Heller never describes a bloody scene where men are massacred without this support, the reader can imagine the very real effects of communication breakdowns.
Other times, lack of communication takes on a more dream-like, nightmarish quality. As Yossarian is trying to avoid enemy fire on a mission, Aarfy invades his personal space, distracting him and poking him. Yossarian tries to tell Aarfy to move back, but Aarfy does not understand, and he continues to distract Yossarian, bringing him to tears. The most disturbing part about this scene to Yossarian is Aarfy's lack of comprehension of the danger they are in and how he is contributing to it. This is not a case where two men cannot communicate about an idea; they cannot communicate about the direness of their situation, and Yossarian's inability to instill fear and alarm into Aarfy's smug mind puts them both in harm's way. The stakes are very high in war, and this makes miscommunication deadly. The fact that it has a slapstick quality to it does not diminish this fact.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
The ways in which a lack of communication can cause problems can be seen in the case of Victoria Climbie. As we know the systems that were involved such as social services and other agencies did not communicate with each other and so therefore tragically, Victoria died in a gruesome way due to the fact there was a lack of information being passed on from one agency to another. Good aspects that have come out of this terrible situation though include ECM (Every Child Matters) and also the Children Act 2004.…
- 434 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
intended message could have been conveyed better. All of the communiqué had good intentions on…
- 367 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
In Catch-22, Joseph Heller uses scenes of violence, such as Snowden and Michaela’s deaths, to emphasize how easily war makes people trivialize the worth of human life. In doing so, Heller argues that war is a tragedy rather than a patriotic or celebratory cause.…
- 503 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Environmental factors such as noise, heat/cold/inappropriate environment. When communicating we need to assess the environment in which we intend the interaction is going to take place to ensure it is suitable for example you wouldn’t conduct a supervision with a staff member in a staff room that had regular visitors coming and going and was noisy and had no…
- 2018 Words
- 9 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Argyles communication cycle include the [1]idea occurs is when you have an idea that you would like to talk about , message coded is when you find a way to say what you was thinking about this could be verbal or non verbal for example sight language or using posters in a care home the care worker will use sign language or symbols in order to send message across to the recipient , message send is when your message has been sent to people or a person that your are trying to communicate with these could done by text, letter, speak to them face to face or by tellephone,message received is when the other has felt your message and see any symbol , message decoded is when the other person have to interpret what you said or mean using verbal or non verbal and message understand is when the other person has understand what you said or mean the way you can tell these is by asking question and getting answers back for example in a care home the key worker may say something to the service user and for her to know that the service user understand what he/ she mean she will ask question and the service user will understand it by nodding their head and using facial expression . The way Argyle communication has helped to explain effective communication in the health and social care context is that he believed communication…
- 1983 Words
- 8 Pages
Powerful Essays -
The use of diaries and letters are not unproblematic. Diaries, whilst often thought an ‘accurate’ or truthful account written solely for the purpose of documenting personal ideas, are often unintentionally written with a specific reader in mind, or written under the assumption that one day the diaries’ entries will be read. Similarly, and perhaps more starkly, letters are composed for an intended and very specific audience. Letters written home from the front to fathers and peers differed in tone and content significantly to those addressed to mothers and sweethearts. Letters were censored, either personally by the soldier’s themselves, or officially by the military. These processes of self and official censorship could skew the meanings and intentions of the author, perhaps exaggerating certain aspects of trench life and omitting other aspects altogether.…
- 259 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The United States currently has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Over 2.4 million persons are in state or federal prisons and jails—a rate of 751 out of every 100,000. Over 3,500 of these are awaiting execution; some for Federal crimes, most for capital offenses in one of the 36 states that still allows for capital punishment. Another 5 million are under some sort of correctional supervision such as probation or parole (PEW 2008).…
- 3800 Words
- 16 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Communication however, is not always about letting someone know your whereabouts it is also communicating if something is wrong such as a personal issue, or better yet conveying a positive note, statement or story. Whenever a soldier is feeling wrong…
- 519 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
It all starts with inadequate knowledge and vocabulary when operating in other countries. While preparing to deploy numerous hours are devoted to learning the culture and basic word that will help with communicating. Before you can communicate an idea, you must first have the idea and know enough about it (Newman, 2015, p.9). The military invest millions of dollars in our training one of…
- 299 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
The basic elements to communication are to present a message to the receiver, whether it’s verbal communication, nonverbal body language, or written communication. To effectively meet the goal communication must be handed down the chain of command effectively, this that feedback must be send upward from the frontline employees back to…
- 862 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Wallace and Roberson (2009) define communication as, “a process involving several steps, among two or more persons, for the primary purpose of exchanging information” (p. 15). The communication process is dependent on the sender’s ability to create an understandable message for the recipient and the recipient’s ability to interpret the message. The process begins by transmitting an idea into a message made of carefully chosen symbols understandable to the receiver (Wallace & Roberson, 2009). To ensure success of the communication process, the sender should consider the recipient’s point of view while forming the message and selecting the means of transmission. The message can take the form of writing, speaking, or movement (Wallace & Roberson, 2009). Receipt of the message is very important or the process of communication stops. Sending the message using the appropriate medium continues the communication process to the next step. Understanding the idea of the message requires…
- 1662 Words
- 7 Pages
Powerful Essays -
As a 23 year retired veteran of the United States Navy, communications becomes a major part of everyday life. Military men and women are introduced to what is known as the chain of command and the structure in which it is written at each command. Communications is something that we are taught not to take for granted because it could be…
- 977 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The communication process can be explained in three basic steps. First, a communicator formulates and encodes a message. Next, the communicator transmits the message over a specific medium, then the receiver receives and decodes the information. Issues can arise at any point in the process if communicators do not take care to preserve the integrity of their messages. This can diminish or alter the intended effect of the communication.…
- 368 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Our past experiences, values, attitudes, knowledge, cultures or feelings are imperative to communicate or interpret others. In wars, since ancient times, military communication is the vital role to transmit messages, orders and reports each other platoons or headquarters to distant installations, ships or all units and also diplomats to communicate with enemy or other countries. To avoid the information leakage,…
- 771 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Effective communication is essential to the accomplishment of any organization or company. The easy procedure for attaining the capability to interact properly between one host and another host can result in the real difference of life or death. There are lots of hurdles within communication in case an individual isn't properly trained to abide by certain principles. This document will review a lot of examples of effective communication as well as the hurdles a person may face when trying to properly transmit information to another person.…
- 1158 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays