Catch-22 is perhaps Joseph Heller's best-known work. Catch-22, published in 1961, is a satire depicting America's countercultural anti-war attitude. A terrifying aspect of Catch-22 is that life and death are not controlled by the men of the squadron, but by the terrifying bureaucracy that continually defies logic to gain their own personal advantages. Joseph Heller's Catch-22 is somewhat autobiographical; emphasizes the literary elements of characterization, conflict, and structure of a novel; and received numerous critical reviews. Catch-22 follows Captain Yossarian on his exploits as a bombardier in the US Air Force during World War II. He is stationed with his squadron on the island of Pianosa, near the Italian coast in the Mediterranean Sea. Throughout the book, Yossarian believes that everyone is trying to kill him. Its commander, Colonel Cathcart, constantly increases the number of missions his men must perform in hopes of improving his rank in the army. Eventually, Yossarian learns that one can be discharged from the army if found insane. Right now, he tries to evade bomb missions by claiming to be crazy. This “Catch-22” prevents anyone who claims to be insane from being discharged. This actually shows that the soldier is sane because he recognizes that this would prevent him from participating in bombing missions. Later, Yossarian is introduced to Milo Minderbinder, who runs a syndicate; uses military planes to ship food across Europe and racks up huge profits. The novel comes to an end when Yossarian's friend Nately is killed in a bomb mission. Yossarian refuses to fly any more missions and eventually flees to neutral Sweden to wait out the war. Joseph Heller was the author of the famous World War II novel...... middle of paper... ignores the fact that someone has been killed and instead kidnaps Yossarian because he is absent. This is ironic because the reader expects the police to arrest Yossarian's friend for murder. Heller also calls a pilot "Kraft", but he is inexperienced in flying. The use of irony increases the feeling of confusion and absurdity (Clemens 1). Catch-22 is a social satire in which Heller ridicules the military and big business. For example, one of the top generals in the army has an extreme obsession with parades and eventually plans fake parades that will never happen just for the sake of it. Heller provides a dark side to his humor by relying on black humor. An example of dark humor occurs when the army is unable to recognize that Mudd is dead and Doc Daneeka is alive. Soldiers place more trust in military documents than in the reality of a dead or alive body. (Scotto 3)