A Who's Who of 'Catch-22' Trivia Quiz

Answer:

The structure of 'Catch-22' is intentionally chaotic, with action jumping around in both place and time, helping to create in the reader a sense of disorientation that mirrors the psychological discomfort of the protagonists. The sense of circling back to where we were earlier illustrates the circularity of the famous conundrum of the title. The term is introduced by Doc Daneeka (the company medic) to explain why Lieutenant Orr's request to have his sanity assessed in the hope that he might be found insane and grounded was doomed to failure. The act of making the request shows that he is sane enough to fear flying in combat, and hence must fly. The concept is expanded in several other examples of seemingly senseless situations from which there is no escape. By the end of the book, it is clear that these traps are essentially power being exercised for its own sake, rather than for any meaningful purpose.


Most of the action takes place on the Mediterranean island of Pianosa, near the coast of Italy, during World War II. We first meet Captain John Yossarian, the central figure of the book, while he is hospitalised with a faked liver condition, a pretence that helps him avoid having to fly the senseless missions on which his commanding officer, Colonel Chuck Cathcart, insists. During the course of the novel Yossarian becomes a more sympathetic character, battling to survive despite the traumatic conditions, which include a seemingly-endless process of increasing the number of missions that must be flown before he can be sent home.

The men in the squadron all show symptoms of trauma, which their chaplain, Captain Albert Taylor Tappmann, does his best to alleviate. Edward Nately is an all-American type, whose friendship with a prostitute leads to her seeking revenge on Yossarian after his death, for which she holds Yossarian responsible. Yossarian's tentmate Orr, already mentioned as the first victim of catch-22, turns out not to be as inept a pilot as he seemed - all those crashes were a careful preparation for his escape to Sweden. Lieutenant Milo Minderbinder, the mess officer, uses the chaotic wartime conditions for his personal enrichment until his attempt to corner the market in cotton goes awry. It is the death of radio operator Snowden in battle that tips Yossarian over the edge into obsessing with mortality, seeing everyone as trying to kill him. Captain "Aarfy" Aardvark enrages Yossarian with his apparent disregard for the dangers that surround them - and when Aarfy rapes and murders a maid while he is on leave, the police are too busy arresting Yossarian for being AWOL to worry about Aarfy. The commander of the squadron was Major Major Major Major (whose father thoughtfully bestowed on him the name Major Major Major - it was almost "Drum Major, Minor Major, Sergeant Major, or C Sharp Major").

'Catch-22' is often described as employing black humour. Indeed, there is a lot of humour, much of it clearly a way of coping with the overwhelming tragedy of the situation. It was based on the author's own experiences in World War II, which took him around ten years to come to terms with at a level that allowed him to start writing the book, which was published in 1961. Within a few years it came to be seen as a must-read book for those involved in the growing opposition to American involvement in Vietnam.

The incorrect options are all characters from Richard Hooker's 1968 novel set during the Korean conflict - which famously lasted for less time than the highly successful television adaptation, 'M*A*S*H'.