h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The book was orignaly to be called catch 18, but another book was being published at the time with a similar name, so title was changed to catch 22.

Funny I should read this as I am currently reading the novel. If you have not read this I must reccomend it, but not if you are the depressed type. It can bring your mood down if you let it. IMHO it is one of the most important works of the last 60 years.

well I've not actualy read it, but I think I might give it a go.

I will agree that it's a good read, and the movie is a classic as far as I'm concerned. My personal definition of a 'catch 22' is 'a no-win situation'. Isn't that pretty much what life is anyway?

I believe Heller redefines catch-22 later in the book as an excuse for anything. I'm sure someone will tell me if I'm wrong (it has been a while since I read the book), but Yossarian has a conversation with some MPs (military police) which goes somethign like this :

Yossarian : Why are you doing this?
MP : Catch 22
Yossarian : What is catch-22?
MP : Sorry can't tell you that.
Yossarian : Why not?
MP : Catch 22

Which is kind of another loop, and allows the MPs to use catch 22 as justification for anything without telling anyone what it is.

It is at this point that Yossarian realises there is no such thing as catch 22 and it is just a trick that the army uses to justify its actions.

I've found this extract, which is what I was trying to explain above, in a article on catch 22 at :

http://www.human-nature.com/rmyoung/papers/heller.html

Catch-22 appears at intervals throughout the book (e.g., pp. 104,172-3), but it is revealed most clearly in two incidents, the first when an old Italian woman unpacks it to its essence when Yossarian asks her by what right the Military Police chased all the girls away from the airman’s favourite haunt: ‘Catch-22. Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can’t stop them from doing’. The women had done nothing wrong but were still chased away. When challenged the M.P.s kept saying ‘Catch-22’.

‘"They don’t have to show us Catch-22," the old woman answered.

‘"The law says they don’t have to."

‘"What law says they don’t have to?"

‘"Catch-22"’ (p. 398).

Yossarian strode away, ‘cursing Catch-22 vehemently as he descended the stairs, even though he knew there was no such thing. 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, criticise, attack, amend, hate, revile, spit a, rip to shreds, trample upon or burn up’

I don't think I ever got that far... I never finished the book. Got a good H2G2 nickname out of it, though!

One of the interesting ways to think of the book is as a mock-epic. Specifically, many of the characters and events have a parallel in Homer's "Iliad". Yossarian, of course, is an anti-heroic Achilles; Milo Minderbender is Zeus; ex-PFC Wintergreen can be viewed as Hera; Col. Cathcart is Agamemnon; Col. Korn is Odysseus (Agamemnon's wiser advisor). That's all I can think of right now, but there are more.

Who, then, is Major Major Major Major? I finished even less of the Illiad than I did of Catch-22

And who is Nately's whore's kid sister?

Or Nately's whore, for that matter?

Or Nately?

Or appleby or Gen Dreedle or McWatt????

In this conception, Generals Dreedle, Peckem, and Schiesskopf (sp?) fill in the pantheon of lesser Gods (i.e. they are all subject to Milo/Zeus and Wintergreen/Hera and have petty squabbles among themselves).

Orr is Patroclus (sp?), in that his escape inspires Y.'s decision to go AWOL as Patroclus' death inspires Achilles to join the fight.

Snowden is Briseis; that which is taken away from Yossarian/Achilles that leads to his withdrawal from combat.

A cosmic relationship: the Fate that guides all, even Zeus, in the "Iliad", is replaced by the irresistable force of capitalism in "Catch-22."

Every character does not have a direct parallel. Many are probably drawn from Heller's own war experiences. The relationship is not complete, but it was certainly on Heller's mind.

I'm sure you could make characters equal the Bible, if you tried. You still haven't accounted for the dead man in Yossarian's tent.

Maybe, but the "Iliad" is much more fun to read than the Bible.

And Joseph Heller can be more fun to read as well.

I think that you are all saying that it's a no-win situation.

"It's quite a catch, that catch-22".

Okay, so I'm off topic, but I know that a lot of Catch 22 fans are M*A*S*H fans, as well. It isn't mentioned anywhere in the series, but don't you think that Catch-22 was really why they never sent Klinger home?

MMT (i just made that one up - Made Me Think), the movies (mash and catch 22) were very similarly shot. Catch 22 was much better made, but wasn't nearly as funny(like it was supposed to be? ). Klinger should have been put in the Army jail where he would be loved by many.

Have you read the novel? At the 4077 he'd have been just fine as he was. After all, Hawkeye got away with convincing a Colonel he was insane and looking for an epileptic whore...

~Irving