Catch-22 Presented By: Jackie Johnston Nancy Sotomayor Lina You

Quotes ► "Laughter rises out of tragedy, when you need it the most, and rewards you for your courage." - Erma Bombeck - Erma Bombeck ► “Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move on.” - Bob Newhart

Intro ► Some novels are written in a way that comedy is incorporated in a direct manner while others use a type of word play to make the reader think about the situations and find the comedy.

Thesis ► Where some novels do not attempt to conceal the tone of the story, Catch-22 draws the audience into the story by hiding humor behind witty comments. The humorous writing style of Heller brings a lighter setting to the serious war environment of the novel.

Body Paragraph 1 Irony- ► In Catch-22, the only way out of the army was to claim insanity but by stating that you were crazy lets the authority know that you are in fact sane by wanting to survive by leaving the army. ► This is seen as irony because there is no true way out of the army since by declaring insanity is basically broadcasting the want to survive which then in turn proves the sanity of that person.

Body Paragraph 2 Washington Irving- ► It was first signed as a forgery by Yossarian in the hospital. ► Washington Irving (Irving Washington) is picked up by Major Major, who signs the name on paperwork because the paperwork with Irving’s name on it never comes back to him. ► Washington Irving is a figment of the imagination who is the perfect person to deal with bureaucracy because he really does not exist. ► By not existing, he is perfectly suited to the pointless shuffling of paperwork. ► It shows the incompetence of both the military and bureaucracy.

Body Paragraph 3 The two government agents that were in search of the leak– ► They were supposed to be under cover but they went and told everyone who they were, so everyone knew about them except for each other. ► Going around in circles to try to find each other ► Lightens the mood of war ► Makes a point on how the bureaucracy tangles things up

Conclusion ► When one thinks of a war, its always grim and morose because the first thing that comes to mind is death. But in Catch-22, Heller added humor into the story to lighten the mood of the setting. The humorous parts in the book are not just plain and out there, but witty comments that causes the reader to actually take some thought to what they are reading, which immerses the reader deeper into the novel.