Catch-22

The only freedom we really have

is the freedom to say no.

Heller makes you work for understanding; he says of Catch-22,

“My objective is not merely to tell the reader a story but to make him a participant—to have him experience the book rather than read it.”

Things to look for:

Figure out the timeline for the plot; the novel is told in a non-sequential order. What is the author’s purpose in doing so?
Representations of greed, guilt, and confusion. All of which are tied to the strengths and weaknesses of PRIDE.
Consider the techniques of satire, repetition, wordplay, and style

This is not meant to give you answers or help you understand plot but to consider how each chapter works to build the novel as a whole.

This is relatively detailed and includes plot related questions in addition to “thinking” questions.

Explanation of the term, logical foundations, and examples

Loyalty Oath Samples

An image of the bombardier’s controls

Images of the B25; one, two, three, cross-section