This is an irrational, orderless and absurd world.
There is only one way to survive,
That is to face death again ...
Book cover (homemade)
"Black humor" is a literary genre that prevailed in the United States in the 1960s, and is also known as "morbid humor", "black comedy", and "desperate comedy". As Mr. Chen Peisi said: "The core of comedy is tragedy", which is a literary style that presents tribulation and joy, absurdity and reality in the same environment, which is nothing more than a cloak of so-called "comedy".
And "Twenty-second Military Rule" is one of the classic representative works of the "black humor" literary genre. Since its publication in 1961, this book has been translated into dozens of languages and disseminated, with more than 10 million copies sold, and is also known as one of the most influential novels in the history of modern literature.
The full text totals 448,000 words, 42 chapters, and the plot is interlocked, constructing a "ridiculous" world.
The book vividly shows the ugly side of the war, profoundly embodies the hateful faces of those who took advantage of the opportunity to satisfy their selfish desires in the war, and revealed the abandonment of traditional morality in American society at that time.
The author uses unique writing techniques and an "anti-fiction" narrative structure to open up this picture full of darkness and sin.
The core of the novel is "Twenty-second Military Rule". This is a rule full of philosophical paradoxes, like "Schrödinger's cat". Like a cloud, it haunts the heads of soldiers who want to escape from this nightmare.
Portrait of Joseph Heller
Joseph Heller, one of the most famous contemporary Novelists in the United States, is a representative writer of the "Black Humor" literary genre. At the age of thirty-eight, "Twenty-second Military Rule" was published, became famous in the literary world, and then devoted himself to the field of literature.
The author's own service as an Air Force lieutenant in World War II (as well as the protagonist of the novel as a U.S. Air Force bomber) provides him with a wealth of real-life material and reference materials in the process of creating the book "Catch-22".
Joseph Heller is good at drawing from real life, and most of his inspiration comes from the American society of the time, and the phenomenon of the torture of the people at the bottom of the modern society is vividly reflected in the brush and ink.
Counting heller's work in his lifetime is not much, but the impact of his work on literary history has made him one of the "most important literary writers of the 20th century". And the reason why his works have been widely praised by the public and have been passed down to this day, I think the main reason is that his works express the voice of most of the American people at that time--the dissatisfaction and hatred of the authoritarian forces.
This has won the applause and strong support of the bullied and miserable readership at the bottom of society, and it is precisely because of this that Joseph Heller occupies a pivotal position in the history of modern Western literature.
The game is set in World War II. A U.S. Air Force flying group stationed on the Mediterranean island of Pianoza (fictional by the author) had many jaw-dropping absurdities that happened during the war.
During World War II, the U.S. government, in the name of freedom and glory, vigorously encouraged young people in the country to join the army. And these young people, after truly experiencing the baptism of war, found that the so-called "freedom" and "glory" were just traps set by those great people who were high above.
The protagonist of the book, Joséren, represents the young people at the bottom and the largest number in the war. Joselian was a young man who joined the army with patriotic fervor and anger. He was young, brave, and full of energy, and his outstanding performance in several missions made him a captain in the Air Force.
Then the good times did not last long, and in the quagmire of the long war, he slowly found that things did not seem to be as he thought. The ugliness and evil hidden in human nature slowly emerged, crushing his original fantasies and hopes.
Stills from the Catch-22 movie
In order to realize his dream of being a general, Colonel Cathcart, the commander of the flying brigade, ordered bombing missions again and again, and the comrades of Joséren died in meaningless combat missions because of Cathcart's dream of being a general;
Mailo, who was in charge of the food, was an uncompromising egoist, and he used his position to facilitate the establishment of a multinational company during the war, smuggling goods in large numbers of planes. On the one hand, he signed a contract with the Allied forces to bomb German bridges; on the other hand, he signed a contract with the German army to shell his own aircraft.
When Jocelian witnessed those absurd and bizarre things happening again and again, he changed from his original enthusiasm to passive escape, and the original air captain who had achieved great success in the war began to hate war incomparably.
He began to tirelessly search for a way out of this nightmare.
Old book covers
However, according to Rule XXII:
"A madman can stop flying, as long as he applies for it, but there is also a conditionality, anyone who applies in person and expresses concern for his own safety, just proves that you are a normal person, it proves that you are not a madman, you must perform the task." 」
"Twenty-second Military Rule" is like an incomparably strong and thick shackle, locking him firmly to death, and his heart is like ashes, he can only continue to endure this torture and suffering, and wait for the opportunity to escape.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" > excerpt one</h1>
Orr was crazy and could be allowed to stop flying. What he had to do was to make a request, but once he did, he was no longer a lunatic and had to continue on his mission. If Orr continues on his mission, he is insane, but if he stops flying at this point, it means that he is completely in good spirits, but if he is in good spirits, then he must go on a mission. If he is on a mission, he is a madman, so he does not have to fly; but if he does not want to fly, then he is not a madman, so he has to go. The provision of the twenty-second military regulation could not have been more concise, and Joselian was deeply moved, so he whistled very solemnly. ”
Catch-22 movie poster
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" > excerpt 2</h1>
Even Clevenger didn't understand how Milo did it, and Clevenger knew everything. Clevenge knew everything about the war, except for the question of why Joséren had to die and Corporal Snak could live, or why Corporal Snack had to die and Josélian could live. It was a dirty, chaotic war without which Josérian could have lived—perhaps, forever. Only a few of his compatriots were willing to sacrifice their lives to win the war, and he did not expect to be among them. Dead or not, that's the question. Clevenger was becoming less and less emboldened to answer this question. ”
When I first read the book, I thought it was a magic realism similar to Márquez's. The dead living in the tent, Joseph's temperature that is always a few degrees higher, the prostitutes who can't shake it off... How to look at it is as incredible as the beauty that flew into the sky in "One Hundred Years of Solitude". As a result, in the end, everything is real and can no longer be true.
"Twenty-second Military Rule" became an inherent noun in Western culture, and it comes from this book, synonymous with black humor.
—— Douban Book Review
Strictly speaking, "Catch-22" does not really have a "protagonist", at least I myself have this opinion after reading this book. The characters in the book, whether good or bad, are the protagonists. It's just that the author chose to tell this story from the perspective of the group represented by the character of Joséren.
This is a rare and good book, and its place in literary history is exalted. This book profoundly reveals the disgusting evils behind modern warfare. The author solemnly and ironically shows us the American society of that period with the aesthetic form of "black humor" between the lines.
Jocelian is the epitome of the millions of American youth who suffered, and he is a typical "anti-hero" figure. When he thought that he was fighting on the battlefield for his beloved motherland, he found that he was just an ant lost in it.
The book's film of the same name was released as early as 1970, and the overall film is highly reducible to the novel. And the TV series version of "Catch-22" was also released in May 2019 for the entire season. After reading this book, I feel that I still feel that I am still unfinished, you can go to see these two related film and television works.
Finally, if you are interested in World War II themes, "black humor", and modern American social culture, and want to find a profound and interesting book of everyone's work, this book is definitely the best choice.
< h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" > in summary</h1>
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