by Joseph Heller.

Catch-22...was crazy. The timeline setup was very confusing, and some of the characters and conversations made me want to tear out my hair and scream. I enjoyed it a lot.

Catch-22 is a war satire, which means it mocks the conventions of war and, specifically, wartime bureaucracy. While I myself feel deeply indebted to the soldiers currently defending our country, and those who fought for it in the past, I must admit I am a terrible coward. I would hate to be in a situation in which my life was threatened, but I had no control over keeping myself alive. Which is, of course, exactly the situation of the hero, Yossarian.

Yossarian IS a hero, despite his constant avoidance of combat missions (the war was practically over, anyway). Yossarian is a heroic character because he recognizes the value of human life. So many of Catch-22's characters fail to see this, it's scary. Scary as an idea, to me, but scarier still to poor Yossarian, whose very life is threatened by selfish bureaucrats who will endanger others for personal gain, or, even more infuriatingly, by over-confident fighters who think nothing can happen to them (and they're usually right). Yossarian sees tragedy where others see daily life, and his willingness to assert this position, as well as his dedicated compassion for others, make him an ideal heroic figure. No, let me rephrase that; the novel frowns on unattainable ideals. Yossarian is a rational heroic character, the kind a yellow coward like me can look up to.

Colonel Cathcart may now be one of my least favorite villains. He would be nothing without the power of the Catch-22 law to back him. He's selfish, but usually a selfish villain is that way because of some strength they perceive in themselves. Colonel Cathcart is selfish in that he knows what he wants, and is willing to shove others in front of a bus to get it, but lacks any real conviction in his own abilities. He spends most of his time fretting over what his superiors think of him, and that worrying tends to reduce the effectiveness of his plans, which disappoints both him and his superiors. Colonel Korn is, of course, a guiding factor in Colonel Cathcart's plans. Both colonels are after similar promotions, and are similarly selfish, but Cathcart is naive enough to believe that others should already be willing to make sacrifices for his gain (after all, he IS a colonel). Colonel Korn recognizes the need to manipulate others to get what he wants, including Colonel Cathcart, which makes him the more sinister figure.