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 Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:22 pm
Yesm we are doing historical fiction this month. And our book is Catch 22 by Joseph Heller.
It shall be discussed. biggrin
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Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2004 9:08 am
I suppose I can get this started...
First off I'll say that I really enjoyed this book. I am usuually depressed by war novels of any sort, but this one, while touching on the same depressing sorts of topics, managed to keep my attention. The characters were all painted very well done to every last quirk, I loved it. Orr was my favorite character--he managed to escape and was very intellegent about it.
Catch-22 raised many a good point, the main and obvious one concerning the title. I'm not really sure what to ask about the novel itself, so I'll just randomly ask this to try and get things going.
The theme that presents itself most strongly is the strength of the beauracracy. Yossarian cannot be freed from duty because he not insane, but only because he wants to be released is he proven sane. Because of the Major and the Doctor's ways, there is no way to break out of the system. The soldiers are stuck fighting even though they do not wish it and should lawfully be released...
Well, that wasn't much of a question, but discuss away!
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Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2004 4:19 pm
I was going to ask that question myself! I don't really know an answer, but I have a question of my own.
Do you think Yossarion was insane, or that he truly was the only sane one there? After, it is natural instinct to get oneself away from danger. But then again, he did do some truly crazy stuff.....
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Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2004 2:28 am
ah what luck! i was just reading the book and joined the guild today sweatdrop shall have to hurry up and finish reading it soon.
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Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2004 2:03 pm
Naiadrisa ah what luck! i was just reading the book and joined the guild today sweatdrop shall have to hurry up and finish reading it soon. Yes! Perhaps we'll actually get some decent conversation this month!
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Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2004 9:07 pm
See, the insane vs. sane arguments are the drive behind the book. Is what Yossarian did sane? Were any of his compatriots sane? Or, was everything insane. Scarily, I have to ask myself how close Heller's perception of things is to reality.
Yossarian's insanity is done with a calculating precision, with logical motives supporting it. Yes, even the walking around backwards thing and the walking around naked things were logical extensions to the situations Yossarian was in.
Sanity from people like Havermeyer, however, is the exact opposite. It's blindly sticking to societal norms "just because."
What still gets me is Milo Minderbender. I can't follow how his operations work, except that he exploits everyone and everything.
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Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2004 4:04 pm
Well, I finally got it from the library, but I dunno if I'll have time to read it... I'm already reading a couple of other books... sweatdrop
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Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2004 5:59 pm
Famicommie See, the insane vs. sane arguments are the drive behind the book. Is what Yossarian did sane? Were any of his compatriots sane? Or, was everything insane. Scarily, I have to ask myself how close Heller's perception of things is to reality. Yossarian's insanity is done with a calculating precision, with logical motives supporting it. Yes, even the walking around backwards thing and the walking around naked things were logical extensions to the situations Yossarian was in. Sanity from people like Havermeyer, however, is the exact opposite. It's blindly sticking to societal norms "just because." What still gets me is Milo Minderbender. I can't follow how his operations work, except that he exploits everyone and everything. All good observations. Perhaps the book is asking our society to define "sane". Perhaps to an extent, all humankind is insane. After all, on the planet Earth, we are the minority in most things. We live and act differently from all other organisms. We live by intangible things such as "morals" that no one can really define.
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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2004 11:30 am
I read this book over the summer and I have to say I didn't like it. It just seemed pointless. I think they were all insane.
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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2004 3:27 pm
Ese I read this book over the summer and I have to say I didn't like it. It just seemed pointless. I think they were all insane. Yeah. There's a lot of sarcastic humor in there that just isn't everyone's style. And they probably were all insane. None of them seemed like any real people I know. I think that most of the characters were actually charicatures. The author chose to exagerate some characteristics in them that normally wouldn't be so overwhelming.
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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2004 2:47 pm
I started reading this book and I have barely started and I already love it!
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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2004 4:13 pm
Fezzik999 I started reading this book and I have barely started and I already love it! Awesomeness. 3nodding
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Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 12:51 pm
It's an interesting book, it is REALLY funny. well to me at least, but it sorta has good thoughts, like how Clevinger (not quoting) says that life is sorta too fast, and that's why he likes boring people, they slow things down and he feels as if that makes his life longer. It will probably become one of my favorites and I will have to read the sequel and Heller's other work
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Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2004 8:20 am
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Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2004 10:22 am
Yeah, it came out in 1994, it's called Closing Time, and Yossarian is 70
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