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Catch-22
CATCH-22CATCH-22, a 1961 best-selling novel by Joseph Heller (1923–1999), set on a U.S. Air Force base in the Mediterranean during World War II. A work of comic genius, Catch-22 represented not just a satire of life in the military but also a serious protest against the uselessness of both rationality and sentimentality in the face of unbridled power in any form. The story recounts the efforts of the protagonist, Captain Yossarian, to gain a discharge despite the insane regulations of the military bureaucracy. The concept named in the title—which refers to a situation in which intentionally self-contradictory rules preclude a desired outcome—rapidly entered the American popular vocabulary and became widely used, without reference to the novel, to refer to any absurd situation in which rationality and madness are radically indistinguishable. By showing how catch-22 operated in every arena of authority, the novel staged a concerted assault on every truism and institution in America—including religion, the military, the legal and medical establishments, and big business. Heller's satire thus targeted not just the military during World War II but also the complacent corporate conformism of the 1950s, the self-serving cynicism of the professions, Cold War militarism and patriotism, and above all the bureaucratic mindset. Despite Heller's difficulty in finding a publisher and initial critical disdain, Catch-22 quickly became one of the most popular American novels of all time. Its irreverence toward established authority helped make it one of the key literary inspirations of the culture of rebellion that erupted during the presidencies of Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon. In his every phrase and motive, including his manic wordplay and compulsive sexuality, Yossarian embodied the decade's spirit of anarchic dissent. The Vietnam War, which seemed to many to embody and even caricature the madness depicted in the novel, greatly enhanced Catch-22's popularity.
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"Catch-22." Dictionary of American History. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Catch-22." Dictionary of American History. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3401800694.html "Catch-22." Dictionary of American History. 2003. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3401800694.html |
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Catch-22
Catch-22, a comic, satirical, surreal, and apocalyptic novel by J. Heller, published in 1961, which describes the ordeals and exploits of a group of American airmen based on a small Mediterranean island during the Italian campaign of the Second World War, and in particular the reactions of Captain Yossarian, the protagonist. The title of the novel has passed into the language to describe a situation of deadlock, composed of two mutually exclusive sets of conditions: the original instance in the novel of ‘Catch-22’, defined in ch. 5, concerns pilot Orr, Yossarian's room-mate. According to Doc Daneeka, ‘Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to.’
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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Catch-22." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Catch-22." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Catch22.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Catch-22." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Catch22.html |
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Catch‐22
Catch‐22, novel by Joseph Heller, published in 1961.
On the Mediterranean island of Pianosa during the last months of World War II, Captain John Yossarian of the U.S. air force attempts to avoid further combat after having experienced grisly events and observing his fellow officers being ridiculous in their lust for promotion. Trying to be grounded as insane, he turns up naked at the ceremony in which General Dreedle is to award him a DFC. But fantastic bureaucratic rulings, extending to a Catch‐22, prevent him from achieving his objective, and he deserts to seek a saner world in neutral Sweden. His commander, Captain Cathcart, drives his men to more and more combat, so that he may look impressive, and General Peckham makes them fly in formations that will make his aerial photos look good, while Lieutenant Milo Minderbinder ignores the whole matter of war and enemy forces as he goes about making a fortune and gaining power in black‐market schemes. |
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Cite this article
James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Catch‐22." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Catch‐22." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-Catch22.html James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Catch‐22." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-Catch22.html |
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catch-22
catch-22 a dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions. The term comes from the title of a novel (1961) by Joseph Heller, in which the main character feigns madness in order to avoid dangerous combat missions, but finds that Catch-22 specifies that a concern for one's own safety amid real and immediate dangers is taken to indicate a rational mind.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "catch-22." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "catch-22." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-catch22.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "catch-22." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-catch22.html |
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CATCH-22
CATCH-22 n. Cardiac abnormalities, Abnormal facies, T-cell deficiency (from absent thymus), Cleft palate, Hypocalcaemia, chromosome 22 (in which the defect lies): another name for di George syndrome.
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"CATCH-22." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "CATCH-22." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O62-CATCH22.html "CATCH-22." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O62-CATCH22.html |
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catch-22
catch-22 • n. a dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions. |
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Cite this article
"catch-22." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "catch-22." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-catch22.html "catch-22." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-catch22.html |
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