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influence people by a casually dropped word and how this relates to the discussion in the previous chapter of how decisions are made. |
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The discussion of perception, raised in chapter four, is carried on in chapter five by the humor of the flies in Appleby's eyes. This discussion leads to the contrast drawn between flies in the eyes and crumbs on the chin — that is, perception versus material satisfaction. In this chapter, too, this issue is elevated to the traditional concern of literature and philosophy, the distinction between appearance and reality. The extent of this concern is evident in the ultimate contrast between the "cosmological wickedness" which jars the plane and the sunlight always present as it turns toward the target. Within this horrifying reality, however, we find many of the characters actually welcomed the war: "Luckily, the war broke out just in the nick of time." Twice in this chapter this idea is given expression, first by Doc Daneeka and, second, by Chief White Halfoat. |
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Out of the contrast of appearance and reality comes the paradox of Catch-22, and the definition of that catch given in this chapter is all the more significant for being stated in terms of one of the major themes, craziness and sanity. Despite the logical appearance of the catch, however, it fails to answer the question "Why?" which is constantly being raised only to be frustrated. Thus the men continue to live in fear, and this chapter emphasizes fear as one of the chief things which matter. Somehow the material benefits of the war are unable to overcome the overwhelming anxiety experienced by most of the men. |
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This whole experience of fear and anxiety finds expression in chapter five in the metaphor of the B-25, in its design at once a womb and a tomb, the inept placement of the escape crawlway — which should provide comfort — leading only to further anxiety. This metaphor in turn becomes a metaphor for life itself, extended as it is by the reference, once again, to the way in which a man, in this case in the crawlway, is like a "yellow-bellied rat." |
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The fear and anxiety depicted here are increased by the realization that what had been passed on as wisdom by teachers, relatives, and lawmakers, was really a lie. Even within the bleakness of the picture drawn by this chapter, however, the novel is true to its satiric form, suggesting by contrast what virtues (for example, Truth) are at the basis of the vision of the author and hold the promise, if realized, of making a reformation possible. In this sense, much of the novel deals with the traditional question of how virtue can be realized in a world that is terrifyingly vicious. |
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Note here, too, how these themes are aided by the descriptive technique, shown at its best in the depiction of the B-25 flight. Here one adjective |
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