Chapters 4-5

After reading these chapters, I am really getting a sense of how Joseph Heller is trying to portray war as a means of solving problems. After five chapters, Heller still does not mention any of the reasons why the war is being fought both general and specific. He also deliberately neglects mentioning any of the wartime strategies themselves and focuses solely on Yossarian's view of war as a solider. It seems as it war has affected his sanity, but it is also unclear whether he is lucid or not after the mentioning of the contradictory rule "catch-22." Chapter 5 was the first instance in which "catch-22" was mentioned in the entire book. I am only beginning to grasp the meaning of this rule in respect to the story, but page 55 really made my ponder the significance of "catch-22." Yossarian desperately wants to stop flying bombing missions and every time he is doing so, he is always terrified for his life. Therefore, he always asks his superiors to ground him so he doesn't have to fly anymore. A pilot can be grounded if he is deemed insane by catch-22 as it would endanger the crew and mission. However, Yossarian is asking to be grounded. The act of asking is a sane act because almost no one wanted to flying bombing missions by common sense. Therefore, because Yossarian is adhering to reason, he is not insane and cannot be grounded from flying. I look forward to finding more about this rule and how it can be applying to other aspects of life in the coming chapters. Hopefully, I can find a better connection between the rule and my essential question soon.