In the midst of World War II, apprehensive soldier and antihero bombardier John Yossarian endures the perpetual torment of war with a tenacious desire to escape. Witnessing a series of horrendous events and relentless bureaucratic nonsense, Yossarian and his companions struggle against the surreal parameters that define life in constant battle and attempt to understand the senseless paradoxes that often thwart their strongest desires. In his novel Catch-22, Joseph Heller describes Yossarian's plight in freeing himself from the tenacious grip of his superiors, demonstrating that in the face of illusory freedom, there is often no escape from the forces of oppression. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay As a major theme in the novel, high-ranking officials often reference the mental state of their subordinates as a means of causing confusion and restraining their actions. During an early invocation of the term that bears the novel's name, the catch-22 is used to explain the paradox in which Orr did not have to fly missions because "he was crazy", but if he had chosen not to fly missions he would have been considered "sane". mind". and I had to” (Heller 46). This “slippery but elegant” logic demonstrates the way the military exploits the mental state of its subordinates to make them perform various actions, causing them to be trapped into doing so by their own state of mind (Swift 2011). Later in the novel, Yossarian attempts to cite his madness as a means of leaving the war, to which Doc Daneeka responds, "'who else will go [to be killed]?'" (Heller 305). Although the military had previously emphasized the idea that a poor mental state is reason to leave war, Dr. Daneeka points out that this idea is not actually enforced, but rather established as a means to control men and hide the fact that escape it is impossible, regardless of one's mental well-being. Furthermore, Yossarian's mental state is used to discredit his logical fear of being killed. When he explains that "foreigners he didn't know shot him with cannons whenever he flew through the air to drop bombs on them," Yossarian is deemed crazy by Clevinger (Heller 17). Despite the fact that both men are subjected to the same dangerous conditions, Yossarian's prospect is frowned upon as it encourages the desire to escape war and its potentially deadly implications. The military's tendency to appeal to the mental state of its subordinates places men in a state of vulnerability and leaves them receptive to control by others. Furthermore, in the novel, the catch-22 conundrum goes beyond the US military and is used by other demographics across the planet, highlighting that the theme of hidden oppression is not specific to the US, but rather encompasses the whole world. After pondering why Nately's prostitute blamed Yossarian for Nately's death, Yossarian comes to the paradoxical conclusion that "every victim was a perpetrator, [and] every perpetrator a victim" (Heller 405). This phrase, applied to the tragic nature of the world, emphasizes that those who are helpless and guilty of the cycle of misfortune suffer and contribute to it, leaving everyone, despite their supposed freedom, victims of an oppressive system. Similarly, catch-22 emerges as a prevalent concept in Italy when the term is uttered by Yossarian's lover, Luciana. She attests that “she will not marry [Yossarian] because [he is] mad, and…[he is] mad because [he] will not marry [her]” (Heller 159). Although presented in terms of love rather than war, this.