Written by Joseph Heller in 1961, Catch-22 is an absolute masterpiece of a novel that still rivals giants like Kafka's The Metamorphosis or Susanna Collins' The Hunger Games. Between the mass of characters and their individual stories, there is understandably a plethora of themes running through this novel. This is perhaps one of the main reasons for Catch-22's seemingly everlasting success and fame as a narrative. As a result there is a colossal amount of information to unpack and it simply cannot be fully explored in a single review. Only the major and obvious themes will therefore be explained. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The story follows World War II bombardier Captain John Yossarian and his fellow officers stationed on the Italian island of Pianosa. An individualist who prioritizes his own life and interests over those of others, he seeks refuge from dangerous bombardier duty in a military hospital by pretending to have liver pain. After being sent back to the Pianosa front (much to his annoyance), Yossarian meets other equally strange and interesting characters. The rest of the novel is set in the current year (1944), with two exceptions which both date back to a few years ago, the first to the "Great Great Siege of Bologna" and the second for background reasons towards Milo and his organization. Other than that, the novel's progression is relatively simple, if not for the occasionally confusing and misleading writing (this is probably intentional on the author's part). Contrary to most novels, the ending of Catch-22 has a rather dark and unfortunate tone with Yossarian simply unable to carry out any more missions after one of his closest friends: Nately, is killed. To escape court-martial and murder by Nately's prostitute, Yossarian flees the Pianosa military base with everything still as frenetic and dysfunctional as at the beginning of the novel. However, the novel ends on a positive note with Yossarian learning of his friend Orr's survival and his successful escape to Sweden (with Yossarian vowing to reunite with him). There is no clear moral in Catch-22, unlike some narratives, and so the moral of the novel is a matter of debate. This particular review will explore the following interpretation of the novel's message: "Your enemy is not necessarily the person you are officially pitted against, rather it is whoever puts you in danger in the first place." This is very evident throughout the novel. Particularly in the Yossarian arc, who could have been much safer from the German war effort, if not for his greedy superiors like Colonel Cathcart who kept increasing the minimum number of potentially life-threatening missions before be relieved from duty and always put his squadron into service. the deadliest bomb possible. The above lesson is especially useful for students who critically analyze current and past political and social issues. Particularly with conscription laws and the actions of political leaders. What is unfortunate, however, is the fact that Heller decided to never resolve this issue, as the world war rages on with countless other officers implicated, just like the Colonel, long after the novel ends. However, this would not be a review of Catch-22. without touching the elephant in the room. Literally known as the "Catch-22," the dilemma was first described by Heller in his novel of the same name. Subsequently, adopting actual use as-22..