Cents? Who kneads it?

Compared to other "classic" novels, Catch-22 is striking. It is also hilarious. It is hilariously striking.

It is striking in the sense that many of its paradoxical conundrums are so out of this world that they cannot be taken seriously; but at the same they make perfect logical sense. Heller does an extraordinary job of taking ridiculous situations and pulling very legitimate social critiques out of them. Beneath Yossarian's fearful and dread-filled anecdotes of the war lies a kind of sick hilarity. And it is beneath that hilarity that many perplexing questions lie.

Through the loose timeline of the book, each chapter tells a sort of mini-story. Although not chronologically-bound to the thread story, the mini-stories end up eventually tying into the bigger picture. Each chapter adds an insight that makes the grand scheme of things slightly clearer-- although not necessarily make any more sense.

The novel has no real plot. But that is the plot. See, the plot of the story is that there is no plot. While reading I have to make sense out of things that make no sense.... I love it (and I love this)! Heller wrote the book with the purpose of adding his own two cents into every chapter that internally makes no sense. Through the mayhem, I try and figure out Heller's purpose. And the ride through the mayhem is a grand ole time. It is gloriously fun.

I have a serious job on my hands to write a paper that does this wonderful book justice. But I have come this far in my thinking: Any paper that encapsulates Catch-22 shouldn't make any sense-- at least in the sense of how a traditional paper makes sense. Don't get me wrong...my paper will have serious points, but I'm not going to go on a traditional path. Catch-22 deserves something out of the ordinary.
If you’re confused, then I’m glad. That’s the fun of Catch-22 and I hope to capture it.