Discuss the extract Essays

Discuss the extract Essays Discuss the extract Essay Discuss the extract Essay Examine the passage beginning Yossarian looked at him and ending with if hes got flies in his eyes (p52). Discuss the extract, examining the issues it raises and how Heller treats them here and elsewhere in the novel. In Orwells prophetic Nineteen Eighty Four, OBrien presents an anti-realist perspective on truth and mankinds understanding of reality. His claim to dictate truth1 by defining it verbally, impinging upon Winstons interpretation of events, is suggestive of a certain pliability to truth.3851This philosophy of subjectivism is similarly directly relevant to Catch 22 that, while set in history, is significantly set on an island that could obviously not accommodate all of the actions2. Both the incredulity of many arguments in the novel, and its imprecise, ephemeral setting concur with the notion that events represent a microcosm of the modern world. Furthermore, as in Nineteen Eighty-Four, they also demonstrate an anti-realist approach to truth that inevitably leads to the manipulation of logic, a manipulation that is encapsulated in the elusive form of Catch 22.This transcendent quality to both events and logic permeates the narrative and is perhaps clearest in the erratic structure of the novel. In adopting this Heller seeks to make the text reflect the events that are portrayed within it. The shift between Yossarian discussing Catch 22 with Doc Daneeka and the catch 22 situation of the flies Orr saw in Applebys eyes* exemplifies this seemingly random development of the plot, with different strands of the novel only being revealed in a haphazard fashion..Similarly, the change in diction and syntax within the extract from Yossarian seeming simplistic and inquisit ive, to the ambiguity of spinning reasonableness, seems to seek to confuse. In the explanation of catch 22, the narrative becomes distinctly convoluted and, at times verbose, perhaps therefore reflecting the illogicality and confusion generated by that which it seeks to explain. G. Hicks reflects that the disjointed chronology means that the reader becomes a little dizzy and this aligns the reader with the disjointed nature of the soldiers lives.Moreover, while the majority of chapters begin by orderly focusing on their namesake, this structure soon degenerates in a pattern that, crucially, is recurrent until the final few chapters. Not only does this narrative style seem consistent and indeed indicative of the seeming illogicality of characters such as Orr, and events such as his practice crash landings, the dramatic change to chronological prose in the later chapters directly reflects the climax of depravity that is portrayed at that stage, in the night that was filled with horror s3.In the same way as the consistently unstable structure of the narrative and syntax, (of that illustrated in the extract) is suddenly changed in Chapter 39, so too does Yossarians perspective alter as the novel develops. The juxtaposition of his respectful whistle? with his later cursing for there was no object or text to rip to shreds, trample upon or burn up4 acutely emphasises Yossarians appeal for an objective morality in a world determined by the subjective logic of Catch 22.This sense of horror is directly derived from the fact that initially Yossarian saw the catch in terms of its perfect pairs of parts*, as a clever intellectual trick, it is at this stage ephemeral and distant in its elliptical precision. Here the diction is ambiguous and yet scientific, as perhaps the reflection upon its spinning reasonableness illustrates best. This oxymoron is applicable here because the catch is approached in an intellectual and not practical way.The conjunction with the nonsensical fl ies in Applebys eyes further detaches the cause, Catch 22, from the effect that is described so vividly later in the novel. This initial conversation about the catch, the narrative of which contains no information about the physical location of the characters, contrasts sharply with the rich description of physical characteristics of Rome where insipid mist lay swollen the air5. Instead of alluding to the catchs value as an ideal like good modern art*, the later similes graphically describe tomblike streets, and yellow bulbs that sizzled in the dampness like wet torches6.This dramatic shift to a narrative that is crudely littered with adjectives, can be seen as representative of the physical effect of Catch 22 so that nothing warped seemed bizarre any more. It is here that shocking* gritty realism eclipses the graceful intellectualism that is catch 22. This shift does initially seem sudden, however if read closely, the extract does perhaps subtly allude to this. Yossarians admirati on for the perfect pair of parts highlights the catch as a clever intellectual trick that is effective, rather as in Nineteen Eighty Four, because people believe that it exists.This alliteration delivers the catch as a device employed with little care for the individual human by conveying a sense of scientific precision. It is this sterile and scientific aspect of Catch 22 that Yossarian admires and, by doing so, reveals its vacuous nature as merely trick of logic. This point is further reinforced by the immediate discussion of the flies in Applebys eyes. While the statement is clearly ludicrous, its internal consistency means that it cannot be wholly dismissed, therefore acting as a parody to satirise the possible manipulation of logic that is equally evident in the previous discussion of Catch 22.Yossarians subsequent reflection that it made as much sense as anything else7, can perhaps be seen as a further ironic indictment of the similar faults of both examples within the extract , rather the apathy that it initially appears to connote. While both in the extract and novel the pliability of logic is highlighted, the primary medium for this exposi? is through outlining falsehood in the war. It is here that the critique becomes truly satirical.The use of Catch 22 to suppress the men attempting to evade duty reflects the manipulative nature of figures such as Cathcart, however the analysis of Appleby reveals lines that are more poignant. Throughout the novel Appleby both believes in and represents the American Way of Life8. Names, perhaps epitomised by the fact that Major Major is indeed a Major, are very much representative of the character. Rather as Dickenss characters are almost caricatured by names such as Gradgrind and Uriah Heap being indicative of their actions, so too can Appleby be seen as having overtones of a simple American.This in turn sharply contrasts with the Assyrian name of Yossarian that is perhaps suggestive of his stronger awareness of pers onal concerns and safety. This point has particular relevance when seen in conjunction with Orrs questioning of Applebys sense and logically in that how can he see hes got flies in his eyes if hes got flies in his eyes? * While the complexity of the sentence mirrors the actual nonsensical nature of the conversation, it can also be seen to allude to the blinding influence of patriotism, highlighting the fact that it is perhaps as illogical as the arguments of Yossarian that the Army seeks to dismiss.While the manipulation of logic by the Army to form Catch 22 does overtly criticise the mechanisms of war, it would be wrong to suggest the novel explicitly attacks War de facto. The novel was seized upon for its anti war slant during the Vietnam war, however to view it as solely serving this purpose is but a naive appreciation of the text. Aspects of war are directly satirised, as through Milos immoral capitalist opportunism. This is as a result of the exposi? of other vices such as immo rality and in particular, the abuse of logic.Catch 22 is not a stereotypical novel that goes from the sublime to the ridiculous but instead illustrates abuses of logic by employing the ridiculous. Heller achieves this, as with the flies in Applebys eyes, by taking metaphors to the level of hyperbolic absurdities to exemplify the manipulation of logic that is Catch 22. The text is littered with such examples, exemplifying the process that leads to Yossarians eventual confrontation of the realities in the night that was filled with horrors in Rome.R. Kelly.Bibliography Catch 22 Corgi Press (1955) Heller, Joseph Seiden, Melvin. The Hero and His War. The Nation, (1961) Hicks, Granville. Medals for Madness. Saturday Review, (1961) Karl, F. R. , American Fictions (1983) Orwell, George Nineteen Eighty Four (1992) Atwood, Margaret The Handmaids Tale, Vintage(1996) Dickens, Charles Little Dorrit, Penguin Books (1981) 1 1984, p. 2 Prologue to Catch 22 3 435 ? Quotes from extract will be den oted by * 4 p. 432 5 p. 432 6 p. 435 7 p. 55.