Rhetorical Strategies (Blog Topic #1)

-Satire: "There was a urologist for his urine, a lymphologist for his lymph, an endocrinologist for his endocrines, a psychologist for his psyche, a dermatologist for his derma; there was a pathologist for his pathos, a cystologist for his cysts..."(10).

The author, when describing all the medical procedures that the colonel had to go through, presents this satire, to exaggerate what the doctors and nurses were performing in order to figure out what was wrong with the colonel.

-Symbolism: "The soldier in white was encased from head to toe in plaster and gauze"(4).

The soldier in white symbolizes the inhumanity with which the the army treats its soldiers. This "soldier in white" has no name or face; the army views its men not as individuals, but as anonymous, disposable playthings. Nobody in the novel knows whether or not the soldier in white is dead or alive. This may indicate that again, soldiers are disposable. The army does not care about who lives or dies.

-Imagery:"...Yosarian shouted back at him in the velvet darkness cloaking the path leading past the still vehicles of the motor pool to the open-air movie theater"(306). 
The use of imagery here is something to definitely be admired. Heller has this talent for painting an image in the reader's mind with ease, by using complex imagery to detail Yossarian's account just a bit more, so it feels like we are also with him.

-Flashback: "I'm cold." Snowden said softly. "I'm cold." "You're going to be all right kid." Yossarian reassured him with a grin. "You're going to be all right"(531).

This extended flashback actually begins at the very beginning of the novel, when Yossarian is in the hospital himself. Snowden's death was a bit confusing, since the entire scene was not rendered just yet, but it was one event in a series of flashbacks. At first, he is just the subject of casual conversation, until he shifts to becoming the novel's most dramatic episode.

Throughout the novel of Catch 22, Heller uses numerous examples of rhetorical strategies, such as imagery, satire, symbolism, and flashback, to illustrate his story, and make it much more believable, and in-depth. One of his most commonly used strategies is symbolism. It is seen nearly everywhere in the book, to bring the story to life. He uses it to portray certain themes, or points in the novel.Some characters stand for a certain symbol, such as Major Major, and Milo Minderbinder. Major Major stands for the human feeling of isolation and lonliness, while Milo stands for the human instinct of greed.

Diction (Blog Topic #2)

 • Heller uses a casual type of diction when the soldiers themselves are talking. He refers to William Shakespeare as “Bill Shakespeare”, and uses many similes to assist the plot flow. This lends to the somewhat playful tone of Yossarian and his friends, as they keep their youthful mischievousness alive in the havoc they wreak upon their superiors and the hospital.

 • Throughout the book, Heller uses a serious tone to address the subject of war. He uses various descriptions to illustrate an image of the men, all while maintaining his same tone. His use of adjectives and imagery assists in the character development of each character. With this character development comes a deeper, more enticing storyline that is entertaining to follow.

• Heller uses a high and formal diction when he is narrating, but tends to use a more colloquial, low diction in the soldiers' dialogue to demonstrate the level of formality and jargon that is often used in such militaristic books. The combination of words like “fluorescent” and “sumptuous” while using words such as "muggy" and "goldarned" shows just this. This illustrates a serious tone, while keeping a playful backdrop for the high diction Heller uses while narrating.

Personal Review (Blog Topic #5)

Catch 22 was a well-written piece of literature, from the viewpoint of a group of soldiers in World War II.  I enjoyed reading the book itself, and learning more about Yossarian and the acquaintances he makes during the span of the novel. Heller uses many different rhetorical strategies to bring his story to life, and to spark an interest in the story.

His words are satirical and humorous, in a form of Juvenalian satire showing a stark contrast to the brutality of World War II in its last few months, given the situation that Yossarian and his fellow soldiers are in. However, Yossarian and the others that he is stationed with on the Italian coast are still young, and cause much more trouble, especially because of Yossarian's blunt effort to avoid having to go out and do anything. He goes as far as faking a liver condition, just so that he can stay in the hospital and rest, instead of having to worry for his life as a bombardier.

Eventually, Yossarian realizes that there is no such thing as a "catch-22". It never existed, but it was a tactic to keep soldiers in their place. I liked the way Heller was able to “paint” images by elucidating his words, and how he was able to keep a general interest in the plot, without it getting stale. Overall, I would definitely recommend the book to anyone, as it kept my interest.

Text Connections (Blog Topic #4)

The novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is a detailed example of the nature of World War II in the midst of the war, and the men fighting it. A text to text connection can be made with another book, detailing the accounts of one certain Paul Baumer in Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front.

Both novels depict a painting of life in two different World Wars. One in World War I, and the other in World War II.They portray the lives of two young men in battle and the hardships they faced during the time period of their service.

The two novels both demonstrate the theme of the “lost generation”, or rather the young men who enter into the war. Both Paul and Yossarian are forced to grow into adulthood almost too immediately. They then experience the brutal nature of war, the unfortunate experience of losing friends they've made, and the carnage left after the war.

A text-to-world connection can be made in the sense that war affects everyone on a different level. The soldiers in Catch 22 are all of different ethnic backgrounds, ranks, etc. They all have a different story to tell. Ultimately, it is the human instinct of survival that arises, as Yossarian refuses to die in battle. The soldiers collectively represent society as a whole, with the soldiers acting as regular people with different values, and the higher-ranked colonels and lieutenants acting as the higher-ups of business corporations, etc.