Catch-22 Chapters1-3

After reading the first three chapters of Catch-22, I have not yet come across any specifics on military strategy yet (and from what I have read, I probably won't throughout the book). This story tells of World War II through the perspective of Yossarian, an American solider who is portrayed to have lost interest in participating in the war. Yossarian is a bombadier in the American Airforce who has flown many treacherous missions for the Allies. His apparent lack of interest is shown in the first chapter when he checks into an Italian hospital, pretending to have a problem with his liver. Because doctors cannot determine whether or not he is feigning illness, he is allowed to stay at that hospital. More of Yossarian's character is revealed in his encounters with other patients that share his hospital ward. In general, he is overly cynical of many of the other patients during his stay. Yossarian returns to active duty after leaving the hospital. He is revealed to be just about the only person to doubt the war efforts as having any real purpose. Possibly due to the many missions (increased experience)that he has flown, Yossarian seems to have an outlook on the war that differs from everyone else's. He believes that every wants to kill him specifically, even though during a battle, no one is singled out to be murdered. Yossarian is characterized by an aura of suspician that he holds over everyone's head. His unorthodox outlook on war, probably will not pertain much to be essential question, but its will definitely broaden my perspective on war in general.

The Art of War (film)

I recently viewed a movie named The Art of War that stars Wesley Snipes. It seemed very appropriate to see this movie because it seemed to pertain so much to my Independent Reading topic. However, I was very disappointed after it was over. The movie does not actually showcase a clear application of Sun Tzu's methods and strategies. Only minor glimpses of the book are present.

The movie centers around Snipes's character, who is an agent for the United Nations. He applies some of the tactics mentioned in the book about deception and trickery such as espionage to accomplish his missions at first. When a Chinese representative is assassinated at a dinner that celebrates renewed relations between the US and China, Shaw, Snipes's character is framed for the murder. He now must utilize his instincts, ancient strategies (presumably from the book), and occasionally brute force to escape danger and clear his name. He must also know who to trust, and is betrayed on more than one occasion. Ultimately he does not clear his name and is caught and killed by the police, likely offering the audience possible flaws in The Art of War, in this war between one man and the rest of the world.

This movies has a complicated plot that is sometimes difficult to follow. It's genre is thriller/action so I do recommend it for anyone who enjoys this type of movie. It's ambiguous ending is open to a plethora of interpretations. Although it is a great film in this right, it does not contain a tremendous amount of material based on Sun Tzu's book. I was delighted to see the movie, but disappointed to find out that it was not as strongly related to my topic as I would have liked.

After finishing Sun Tzu's "The Art of War," I now understand why the book is so timeless even though the book I read is only a translation. Tzu employs many rhetorical strategies in describing his military strategies. However, he is very vague and general at times on purpose because the commanders that he is appealing to who will likely be reading this book, all face extremely different situations and conditions. This fact, in turn causes the knowledge of Tzu mentioned in the book to be able to be applied to a wide range of subjects including the stock market. In almost any subject in which competition is essential, "The Art of War" can to applied to help the "combatants." The most prominent feature of Tzu's rhetoric that is preserved through the translation is his assuring tone. In almost every chapter, he virtually guarantees victory if his strategies are followed. In a sense this is true, but his strategies are so general in most cases that many commanders will not know exactly what to do and will need to rely on their own instincts and experiences. This book primarily appeals to a reader's logos although ethos is likely established through Tzu's assuring tone. In each chapter, Tzu follows either one or multiple chains of logic that is very closely tied together. Sun Tzu effectively synthesizes almost all of the world's essential and fundamental military strategies in a relatively short book. His translators succeed in an equally daunting task of translating his rhetorically rich text without losing too many of the text's nuances. While waiting for my other books to arrive in the mail, I try to think about the different strategies mentioned in "The Art of War" that will likely to mentioned in the stories that I am to read. Since they are all fiction, they will likely tell of war only through their characters and will not be too revealing of the overall military strategies that win and or lost the wars that are discussed. Sometimes the strategies will need to be inferred.

"The Use of Spies"

Something that Sun Tzu stresses throughout the entire book is the condition of knowing the enemy. If an army's commander knows all of his enemy's dispositions, he will be able to predict with pinpoint accuracy the moves that his enemy will make and will thus be able to modify his own strategy to compensate for the enemy's. In the final chapter, of the book, Tzu finally explains how to obtain the critical knowledge that is so essential to victory. Because "raising a host of a hundred thousand men and marching them great distances entails heavy loss on the people and a drain on the resources of the State," spies are needed to reduce the strain. The rest of the chapter is focused on the different ways spies can be positioned into an enemy position and the different ways they can be used to someone's advantage. The primary goal of a spy is to provide knowledge of the enemy that can only be obtained from the inside. However spies can also serve other purposes such as assassination. On the other hand, an enemy's spies must be "sought out, tempted with bribes, led away and comfortably housed." They can be converted into double agents. I see particularly in this chapter the applications of the strategies mentioned in Tzu's book in today's world. Espionage is so prevalent today that many countries know that spies are present within their borders but do not know how to seek them out. Almost every major nations has an agency specifically dedicated to spying such as the renowned CIA and KGB (former).. These agencies send a network of spies to other countries even in times of peace. They gather intelligence that can either avert or instigate a nuclear war.

Discretion

The chapters "Attack by Stratagem" and "Energy" explore aspects of war that are not directly related to the fighting itself. As I learned, many of the greatest battles are won without fighting. Deceit and cunning are important aspects of war that are often overlooked both in peaceful and belligerent confrontations. Tzu specifically warns against a siege which will result in a general losing a third of his men "while the town still remains untaken," in most cases. This is due to the mentallity of a general while overseeing a prolonged siege. He will likely be "unable to control his irritation," and act "recklessly," a fatal fault that a commander can exhibit. At the end of "Attack by Stratagem," Tzu summarizes his aforementioned strategies in a list of five essentials for victory, which includes a commander's relationship to a "sovereign," which in today's world would just be a leader of a country (later in the book Tzu even mentions times in which a commander MUST disobey a sovereign in order to achieve victory. This brings up questions about whether he was censored in ancient China). "Energy" deals with the motivation that an army needs in order for it to be successful in battle. Tzu employs analogy to convey his message. "There are not more than five musical notes (there are actually 12 but traditional Chinese music usually only used 5), yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard" compares music to non-combat related tactics. Although there is a small number of essential/ fundamental tactics, one can mix and match them so that there are virtually an infinite number of paths to follow in fighting a war. The simile "your army may be like a grindstone dashed against an egg" uses an everyday image to make a connection. The overall message of the chapter is to describe how the collective energy of a fighting force is achieved and maintained. Tzu's final simile and metaphor effectively conveys these messages. When a commander "utilizes combined energy, his fighting men become as it were like unto rolling logs." A rolling log picks up momentum as it rolls down a hill until it becomes an unstoppable force with energy thousands of times greater than that when it started. .

Tactical Strategies

The Art of War explores a wide range of both military and general strategy that when used in conjunction in the appropriate situation will virtually garentee victory. Some of the fundamentals that are mentioned such as phrases like "know the enemy and know yourself" may seem cliche today but this is likely where the phrases originated. The chapters "Tactical Dispositions" and "The Army on the March" explore the many different situations that an army can face and how to deal with them. Although there are many cases in which Tzu's complete meaning to lost due to the translation, his overall message is preserved. In "Tactical Dispositions," the author explains the different initial conditions that can be the condition of a force such as one with "insufficient strength" and one a with "superabundance of strength." The former should stand on a defensive while the latter should attack the enemy. Many of the strategies mentioned may seem to be blatantly obvious but in the heat of battle, even thte obvious can slip the mind and an uninformed commander might lead his army on futile attack that will result in a tremendous loss of life without any benefits. In the next chapter, Tzu explores the relative merits of a mobile army to a stationary army. He mostly relies on direct statements that follow strings of logic to appeal to the reader, who was likely a military strategist (original intended audience). After concluding that a mobile army is more beneficial in most situations, Tzu describes the "how" in moving through different geographic features such as rivers, mountains and valleys. to say that warfare has changed drastically in the past 5 millenia is an understatment but the geographic features of earth have remained the same and these strategies, for the most part, are still valid. Using the surroundings to your advantage is stil more beneficial than any advanced weaponry.. . Overall, in the first half of the book, Sun Tzu's language is refined (the work before the translation is likely more refined a sthe ancient Chinese devoted much energy in the art of rhetoric) and direct. He likely chose this approach because he must be easily understood in order for his readers to apply the knowledge that he has compiled. This is also likely the reasont that this book has gained its mass appeal throughout time.

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

I have decided to begin my independent reading project with a careful reading of Sun Tzu's timeless work on military strategy The Art of War. Because the work is alluded to so much in modern works about war and is so highly revered today, I have decided to read it first to decide what about it creates its unmatched merit. Also, I know that the military strategies in this book are applied to military campaigns throughout history. I would like to see how they have survived over 2000 years of technological and cultural advancement and how different groups of people interpret them. For the purposes of this project, I would like to find parallels between my other 3 books and the strategies that Sun Tzu explains as a test to the merits of The Art of War. Hopefully, I will find many interesting applications of the ancient Chinese author's text.