How Does Heller Use Satire In Catch 22

The novel Catch-22 tells the story of life at war, focusing on a solider named Yossarian. Throughout the novel, different characters and aspects of war are introduced that do not fit the “normal” image of a soldier. This satire conveys characters as being insane, while they are in truth the only sane people there. Joseph Heller redefines the word sanity through his satirical war novel.
Yossarian's character embodies the stereotype of mental issues during wartime. The army sees Yossarian as a lunatic -- always pulling crazy antics which do not comply with the standard behavior. As a result of this, he was labeled as insane. Throughout the novel, Yossarian tries to remove himself from the war and tries to escape having to fly additional missions. He faked sick in the hospital, trying to wait the war out which made him seem insane in their eyes. Yossarian made an observation which to everyone else seems insane, “They're trying to kill me," Yossarian told him calmly.
"No one's trying to kill you," Clevinger cried. …show more content…
He spent the whole entire time devising a plan to escape the horrors of the war, and he took advantage of being labeled as different. He realized that being labeled as insane during the war only would help him escape without being noticed. Joseph Heller shows that the people who labeled him as insane were actually insane for believing his whole ploy. He shows that once someone is labeled as different from a crowd, they are automatically labeled as insane -- when maybe that person is the only sane one there. By making Orr and Yossarian tent mates, Heller presented an ironic contrast between them and the rest of their community. Their tent was the only one with running water and a stove, which can prove how they are the only ones who are sane and are living in reality. Although this quality was not admired at the time, it conveys the satire about the world that they are living