Catch-22
A situation in which someone cannot escape due to illogical or unreasonable contradictions is referred to as a “Catch-22”. For example: If you are going to apply for a job you need experience; to get experience you need a job. A homeless person may want to apply for a job to earn money to buy a house, but the application requires a current address. In these situations a person is unable to meet the requirement for the job because they need the job to meet the requirement. The term was coined by Joseph Heller, author of Catch-22 in which characters are often struggling with dilemmas due to Catch-22 laws.
Many Catch-22s are set in place to make people follow through with absurd rules that the only way to avoid is to accept it. Often the laws give people a false sense of hope; you can get out of
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The sense of entitlement given to those in power, authority, and with privilege are often abused and taken advantage of to make use of those they have power over using these laws and constraints. The first example, the air missions, displays how soldiers in the war were constantly forced into combat until they outlived their usefulness or died. The second, shows a prime example of police brutality, which is a relevant issue today, and how those people put in authority feel entitled to do whatever they please even if it involves another person’s life.
Many other examples of Catch-22 are present in the book. In chapter 6 when Yossarian is told he must follow all orders given to him even though they may contradict each other. When Milo is asked to deprive Major Major of food by Captain Black because Major Major never signed the loyalty oath in which he was never allowed to sign in the first place. The condition described by Doc Daneeka seems to come closest to the generally accepted definition, the problem with Lusciana coming close in my