Insanity In Catch 22

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller looks back on the events of World War II, and points out the insanity of war. The book is centered around Captain John Yossarian, a member of an Air Force bomber crew stationed on the island off the coast of Italy. The novel features a satirical tone as it points out the absurdity of the military and war. One character interaction between Yossarian and Doc Daneeka is central to the purpose of the book. Yossarian in an effort to avoid flying asks Doc Daneeka to ground him on the basis of insanity. Doc Daneeka, however, refuses based on Catch-22. The mysterious Catch-22 states that a man would only be insane if he wanted to continue to fly and face the danger of war; however, in order to be removed from duty due to insanity

Attempting to cheat the system for his own personal gain, Doc Daneeka convinced Yossarian to have McWatt include Doc Daneeka on flight logs in order to collect flight pay. McWatt was known for flying low and buzzing by people’s tents. During a training flight with two trainees, McWatt decided to buzz low over the edge of the beach where numerous individuals were swimming and enjoying the beach. Kid Sampson, a young member of the squadron, was atop a makeshift raft floating off the beach. McWatt, unaware of Kid Sampson, accidently kills Kid Sampson when he is hit by the propeller. After two of the trainees exit the plane with parachutes, McWatt decides to take his own life crashing into a mountain instead of landing. Due to the flight logs, Doc Daneeka is officially considered on paper “to be dead because he was supposed to be on flight duty in a plane that was destroyed”(Walsh para. 9). Doc Daneeka’s selfish behavior comes back to haunt him. By trying to take the easy way out and by relying on others to complete his responsibilities, Doc Daneeka is punished for his selfish behavior. Heller pieces together the repercussions of Doc Daneeka’s death “with capacious irony”(Walsh para. 9). Following the plane crash, Doc Daneeka is “removed from the roster of the squadron, his pay is cut off, and he is not permitted to work”(Mullican para. 25). His obvious living presence on the

Doc Daneeka is presented as an absurdly greedy and selfish individual. Throughout the novel, he exemplifies selfish and lazy behavior as he attempts to cut corners and reap the benefits. His greed, however, leads Doc Daneeka down a dark path as he loses everything due to his own actions. By relying on dishonest methods to collect extra flight pay, he is considered dead following McWatt crash. His death on paper, furthermore, quickly becomes a reality as he loses everything in his life. Doc Daneeka’s gloomful end is his own doing due to his greed, and it serves to develop a theme that greed and selfishness should be avoided. Throughout Catch-22, Heller points out the issues common in human behavior. As Heller points out, individuals in real life should be more charitable and caring avoiding greedy and selfish behavior. By working together and not against each other, strong and beneficial relationships are born. Caring only for yourself ultimately results in one facing life alone and not with