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American Bureaucracy In Catch 22

748 Words3 Pages

In Catch-22, Joseph Heller comically satirizes war and American bureaucracy. However, near the end of the novel, the tone becomes more heavy and dark as the burden of war and its side effects bear down on the characters. Wandering through the destroyed, nightmarish streets of Rome, Yossarian resigns to his helplessness. He is trapped by the war, and after exercising the routine courses of action to get sent home, he decides that he will do anything to escape duty. He refuses to fly any missions just before he goes absent without leave to Rome, the greatest offense he has committed thus far. The scene Heller depicts as Yossarian walks through the disorderly streets of Rome epitomizes the devastation and shift in the norm that individuals and communities experience during war. …show more content…

They travel to the Eternal City, a city that is said to endure no matter the chaos that erupts around the world. However, war takes its toll. After years of action in World War II, the men’s place of solace is not unscathed. The city has descended into anarchy. Faced with endless cases of suffering and destitution, “Yossarian walk[s] in lonely torture, feeling estranged, and [can] not wipe from his mind the excruciating image[s]. As a soldier in times of war, Yossarian has little power at his disposal; he is helpless in defending Rome. When he visits the streets of the country he protects, he has as much authority as the civilians who live there under

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