What do you consider to be the most emotionally effective scene or passage in the novel? What techniques does Heller use to create this emotional response? What is the the author's purpose in doing so? Support your response with evidence from throughout the text.
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One of the most powerful scenes of Catch-22 is when Yossarian goes out in search for the kid sister of Nately’s whore. This chapter is not only the most despairing, but also reveals a change in Yossarian, for it is the first time that he has shown any serious determination to save anyone else but himself. I believe that he feels strongly obligated to save the only piece of innocence left, the twelve-year-old virgin girl, because he can’t seem to save himself from his own Catch-22. Yossarian’s quest ends in failure and in the middle of it all he cannot seem to escape the frightening sights of misery and inhumanity that repeatedly follow him such as a sad boy in tattered clothes who “needed a haircut and shoes and socks”, an “Allied soldier having convulsions on the ground”, the sounds of women being raped, a man beating a dog with a stick, a “drab woman weeping silently into a dirty dish towel”, a man brutally beating a small boy no more than nine-years-old, and scattered molars and broken incisors that lay in pools of blood. Yet, Yossarian, instead of fighting back at such injustice, collapses into bitter hopelessness and declares “what a lousy earth!”, thus showing how too many long years of grueling war have frightened him away into despair and cowardice. Heller adds all these haunting horrors to create a sense of gloom and brutality, in which all forms of optimism are sucked away and more weaknesses in humanity are revealed in hard times of war when the value of human life is greatly desensitized.
ReplyDeleteI find the most powerful scene to be Snowden’s death. Heller builds this moment up from very early on in the novel by mentioning Snowden, and insinuating that Yossarian played a large role in Snowden’s death, yet Heller always leaves the story dangling. This creates a strong curiosity in the reader. I know I was wondering throughout the entire novel whether Snowden’s death is really what broke Yossarian, since he often remembered Snowden when he was facing a particularly dangerous mission or an imminent threat to his life. At the end of the novel, when Heller finally does fully address what happened when Snowden dies, the scene is so riveting, I feel as if I am Yossarian. The sensory images Heller creates are so believable that it is difficult to not feel the exact emotions Yossarian experiences – disgust, dread, empathy, confusion, shock.
ReplyDeleteHeller delves into Yossarian’s fear of flying so that the reader is almost certain he or she is facing certain death as well. Then, Heller taps into panic as Dobbs cries out for somebody to “help, please help the gunner.” It’s as if the whole world is holding its breath as Snowden repeats “I’m cold. I’m cold,” and Yossarian attempts to save him. For a short while, Heller allows the reader to experience a sense of triumph as Yossarian successfully finishes the tourniquet on Snowden’s leg before plunging the reader into shock. The secret that Heller has hinted at for so long becomes something so hideous; my first instinct is to reject it. As Snowden’s guts spills out onto the floor of the plane through his flak wound, Yossarian comes the realize Snowden’s secret is that “man [is] matter…the spirit gone, man is garbage.”
Yossarian represents the multitude of soldiers during every war who have lost interest in the cause and view their own survival with higher priority than the continuation of their allegiance to their country. Yossarian values life more than anything and that spawns from his extreme fear of death for a cause he doesn’t believe in. Snowden shows him what death looks, smells, and sounds like and since then, Yossarian is cracked. All he can think of is escape. I think Heller included this scene to remind us that we are not invincible. We are weak; both our bodies and our spirits. I think Heller was trying to prove that death is inescapable and it can have a life altering effect on those who witness it – especially in war, when allies can turn into enemies with one death.
The most emotionally powerful scene for me was McWatt's killing of Kid Sampson and suicide. Heller begins the scene with Yossarian losing his will to fly and bomb anymore despite his orders to create a tight bombing pattern. With a distinctly pessimistic disposition, Yossarian comes to the conclusion that he is safest flying with McWatt as pilot, and will accept no substitute. After creating this mood, Heller has Yossarian put into an abhorrent situation, resulting in him threatening to kill McWatt, which only makes Yossarian hate himself for tormenting McWatt and possibly losing one of the few friends he has. This is where Heller works his magic; we now see McWatt’s character as he virtuously forgives Yossarian, leaving an unmistakably fond appreciation with the readers of McWatt. This feeling is the most important part of creating the emotional impact. Now that a small essence of reality has entered this mad world, readers calm down, enjoying the relaxing, pleasant scene that follows. It is this letting down of their guard that Heller immediately capitalizes on, turning a peaceful environment into chaos as Kid Sampson is violently ripped apart. The gruesomeness of this scene is compounded upon by the panic that ensues on the beach directly after. However, this is not where the true emotion lies. In the event that follows, Heller rips away all feelings of comfort by destroying a character whom Yossarian had just come to trust.
ReplyDeleteI have often wondered what life would be like if I was responsible for someone’s death, especially a friend’s. I do not believe that I would ever be able to forgive myself, even if everyone had. With such a haunting memory clouding my thoughts, suicide could easily become a very rational response. The ending of a life accidentally is one of the most depressing thoughts I have had the displeasure to imagine, and the mental strain of committing such a heinous act would weigh heavily on my heart. It is for this reason that I chose this scene as the most emotional, because put in McWatt’s place, I could have easily done the same. I am sure that Heller intends to create this dilemma by posing this question to all readers: what would you do? Of course as a reader one would think, “Of course I wouldn’t kill myself!” But that is only because we as readers can see all the adverse effects that come from this action. By digging a little deeper, and by attempting to feel as McWatt does, it becomes a much more difficult question to answer.
In my case Heller has preyed upon emotions that run much deeper than the plot of his book, and I believe that this could happen in many occasions throughout the story as well, it simply depends on the reader. Through this scene Heller pulled me further into the madness and insanity, and is therefore my most emotional.
I would have to agree with Alex on this one. Snowden's death is definetly the most emotional passage and chapter. Not only does Heller mention little tidbits about Snowden's death to hint that it is his main point, he makes Snowden seem like a little kid during the scene, giving the reader sympathy to think about. Also, by making this passage almost like real life in the sense of a parent taking care of their child, shown by Yossarian's proudness in his tourniquet, it gives the reader something to relate too making the scene have a deep impact in emotion. Another technique Heller uses is having the reader live in the moment of that time. By depicting the image of Snowden's leg wound as something so grotesque and detailed it, just as Alex said, makes the reader feel as if they were Yossarian trying desperately to save this boy. The idea that I really thought was interesting was Heller's technique of imagery. Although not very subtle, as I had to think of the whole book as a whole before realizing it, the imagery really makes the main point of Hellers book stand out. The way I see it is that Snowden represents the 'Catch-22'. During the repair of his leg Yossarian is trying to do everything he can to try and stop the bleeding, comforting him, applying the tourniquet, just like hewas doing to try and get out of the war and flying missions. But then after he thinks he has saved Snowden's life (after finishing the gauze) he discovers more wounds just like the missions keep climbing. This time though, the reality sets in and makes this passage the most powerful and emotional. This situation alone changes Yossarian's viewpoint of the war, it makes him realize that he can not try to lie or fake his way out of missions anymore, he realizes that he has to try and stand up to the authority and escape bluntly. Snowden's secret is a big part of this realizing that "Man is matter. Drop him out a window and he'd fall...," creates an image in Yossarian's eyes as well as the reader's that the authority in the war expects the soldiers to die. By using imagery to make his main point Heller creates a thought provoking idea of something no one would have noticed, just as Snowden's death did with Yossarian's realization in the true meaning of his life and his rights to escape. This passage made me feel like I was part of the story living the problems that Yossarian discovered as he went through this death. I liked this passage alot and it made me think more about the story giving it a number one on my list.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with JP; the most emotional scene for me was on the beach in chapter 30 with the deaths of McWatt and Kid Sampson. Prior to the pair of deaths, Yossarian had attempted to strangle McWatt, the only pilot he had ever trusted, due to his dangerous flying style. After McWatt forgave him when they were both on the ground, Yossarian realized just how great of a friend and a person McWatt is. The scene then transforms into a peaceful, sandy beach setting where Heller places the characters into a traditional American dream. Yossarian (the father) and his beautiful, young wife (Nurse Duckett) laugh and have a lot of merriment on the beach with their charming kids (Nurse Cramer, Aarfy, Dunbar, Nately, and Hungry Joe). Then, suddenly, Heller kills off two of Yossarian's friends and plane-mates, McWatt and Kid Sampson. Their deaths came so quickly and out of the blue that I needed to re-read the passage multiple times to see if I read it correctly the first time.
ReplyDeleteThis particular moment had a big impact on me. Peace immediately changed into violence, innocence into despair. It made me aware of how fragile life is; how, in one little moment, so much can be taken away. It made me realize that at any single moment in time our lives can abruptly end, no matter where we are or what we are doing. We need to suck everything we can out of this one life we are given before one little gust of wind comes and takes us.
I’m definitely agreeing with Alex and Dawson on this. Snowden’s death sent me through an emotional roller coaster of (as Alex put) disgust, dread, empathy, confusion and shock. Seeing Yosarian’s determination to save Snowden gave me a new found respect for Yossarian. Comforting Snowden as if he was family really gave me some empathy for Yossarian. Snowden saying “I’m cold” over and over really does give him a childlike feel which only increases the desperation for readers to want Yossarian to save him. Heller even gives the reader hope as Yossarian patches up Snowden’s leg. Then Heller diminishes the hope when Yossarian realizes that Snowden has another wound under his uniform. If Heller’s description of Snowden’s leg wasn’t enough to touch the reader then the description of Snowden’s guts should definitely get a response from the reader. I was glad that I did not eat before reading chapter 41 because I just might have seen what I ate similar to Yossarian seeing the tomatoes Snowden ate for lunch that day.
ReplyDeleteHeller included this to show us Yossarian’s strong motivation for staying alive. We knew since the beginning that Yossarian wants to live but his experience with Snowden shows us a gruesome way to die on flight missions. Yossarian’s greatest fear is to die and Snowden is the one ignites that fear.
I agree with Alex, Dawson, and Greg. Snowden's death forced me to stop and listen. The rest of the novel seems to flow right along, with deaths and jokes flung along the way, but Heller intentionally makes this death different. He references it throughout the story, but never describes what really happened. That wonder sat in the back of my mind until about page 446, when I realized that those questions would finally be answered.
ReplyDeleteSo what was different about this death? This one was detailed and slow. This one was gruesome. Similar to the Kid Sampson scene (which was also extremely impactful), Heller uses disgusting detail and imagery on the deaths with which he uses to make a point. As each response before me has said, Snowden's childlike attributes and Yossarian's reassurance and hope only makes the eventual death more upsetting.
Another thing that made me think- the way the passage was introduced. Yossarian only committed to remembering and telling the entire scene when he was in the middle of a cold sweat in the dark hospital. He had suppressed the memory (and maybe his mental turning-point) for so long, but in this moment of desperation and helplessness, he is reminded of his other moment in which he felt those two emotions the most. Also, the scene is important because of how shocked and affected Yossarian is—a character who Heller has set up to only care about saving his own life. He has been thinking that the entire world has been trying to kill him, but this event is the cornerstone of the later scenes (with McWatt and Orr) which depict Yossarian becoming close with other characters: letting them in, becoming somewhat emotionally attached.
Snowden’s death demanded attention. Dawson and Alex were both right about how “man is matter”, and I agree that the secret second wound was symbolic for the concept that with every battle, there is yet another one- much worse- in store.
I agree with many of you that Snowden’s death does indeed exist as the most powerful passage in this novel. The reasons why the passage is so inherently powerful ( the use of imagery, suspense, etc) has been well explained so I won’t bother rehashing those aspects of the scene. However, I will say that, at least to me, the scene in which Snowden ultimately and finally “spills his guts out on the floor” stretches far beyond the boundaries of the second to last chapter, titled ‘Snowden’. To me, this scene in a way IS the novel, or at the very least the driving force behind all of Yossarian’s actions throughout much of the storyline. That is to say, Snowden’s death and the chapter dedicated to him essentially comprise the cause behind the entire story.
ReplyDeleteSo, effectively, Heller revealed the cause for the story after demonstrating the effect this incident had on Yossarian (AKA all of Yossarian’s crazy antics throughout the story). But why do that? Aren’t stories supposed to flow from cause to effect? Not in a book as crazy as Catch-22.
What ultimately makes Snowden’s chapter the most powerful part of the novel is that by the time you reach this point in the novel you expect, if not outright demand, that Heller gives you a potent, visceral reason for sitting through 400+ pages of Yossarian’s shenanigans. You expect an extreme, uncommon scene in which all of Yossarian’s insanity can be easily explained away ( because insanity that can’t be explained is all the more insane, right?) . Indeed, at least to me, Yossarian’s madness is justified in this passage because what he saw was certainly extreme enough to drive most men insane, yet you can’t say this is an uncommon scene; an untold number of men have watched helplessly as someone died violently before their very eyes. Thus the question is just begging to be asked at this point: “If something so common can drive a man insane, how is it that any of us escape insanity?”.
So here, right before the curtain falls on Yossarian’s twisted little tale, Heller smacks you right in the face with the message he’s been hinting at throughout the story: insanity isn’t limited to those people whom we keep locked away in clean white rooms and wrapped in straightjackets, but rather to anyone who has seen the world for it’s cruel, chaotic self.
Many of you may not have had the same experience as me while reading this passage, and I’m sure that many of you took a different meaning from this scene, but I’m sure you all got something of resounding meaning from this passage, and I think that, more than anything, Heller’s ability to make his readers beg for the ultimate message of the story during this passage is what makes this scene so great.
Side note: I realize that much of this post should have gone under the “theme” topic thread, but I felt that this theme owes its power to this passage, and that this passage owes its power to this theme. So I felt it belonged here just as well.
For me the most powerful passage in the novel is the death of Snowden. This is so powerful to myself because it really demonstrates the whole setting of the novel. The war. Snowden was a man that got killed in the mission of duty which emphasises the novel itself because it is a war setting. For Snowden to get killed in such a gruesome way really makes you stop and think even more because being happy that Yossarian fixed his leg up only to realize that there is something even more wrong. Snowdens insides are spilling out. This type of death makes it all the more important and impactful because if Snowden had just got shot and died, well it wouldn;t have been as significant because that is what happens in the war. But this type of death is certaintly the most tragic and makes you really interested and read carefully because Snowden is at first going to be okay so but once his insides leave his body, it is a more personal death and I felt as though the war trully seems like a terrible thing and could understand why Yossarian wanted to leave. No one should have to die like that especially when defending something that they love. This is why this passage is the most important and revealing to me.
ReplyDelete(It seems I have a similar situation to Johnston with the fact that I definately posted this a week ago but now it's not here! So pretend it's right after Solly's wonderful post.)
ReplyDeleteI found myself looking for the “like” button after reading DuVall’s blog on Snowden’s death (and now all you others rivited by this!), since she perfectly covered what I would have written about that powerful scene and then some. So in order to not be redundant I’ll address the next passage that really stuck with me after finishing the book, which is the description of Rome as Yossarian wanders through it for the last time and the complete structural and moral ruin he finds it in. The first part about this scene that grabs the reader’s attention is the change of tone from the rest of the book. Catch 22 for the majority is very humorous throughout. There are the scattered scenes that are not so funny such as the deaths of noted soldiers, however they were always about the hardships in the military. The difference with the last passage in Rome is that it doesn’t involve the military or for the most part, character’s the reader knows. It is a civilian city and civilian people who have utterly changed in heart and are now openly showing the darkness and despair they feel by taking it out on each other. The hopelessness and tragedy of the scene is overwhelming, encompassing an entire city instead of just a few people like the death of Snowden. I find this to be one of the most anti-war parts in the novel because of that. Heller’s inclusion of darkness and strewn human teeth across the sidewalks is very haunting also, and adds to the differences of this scene from the rest of the book.
The most powerful scene in Catch 22 is the scene in which Yossarian returns to his apartment the night the he searched for Nately’s whore’s kid sister. Distraught with worry for the child lost in the recently bombed Eternal City, Yossarian is forced to observe many atrocities, like dogs and young children being beaten, and women being raped, while treading over the teeth of dead men. This scene represents the utter hopelessness that Yossarian feels, not only from his worry for the child, but also his situation in the war and the constant grief of losing friends. The scene is brought to a climax when Aarfy is found to have raped and killed a woman in the enlisted men’s apartment, only to be apologized to by the policemen that show up to arrest Yossarian for being in Rome without a pass. This passage represents the atrocities and hypocrisy of war, not through the act of war itself, but through its effects. Rape and child abuse are two actions that nearly everybody in the world, despite cultural differences, can generally agree are morally abhorrent. However, in the presence of war, it seems to be forgiven, which reveals effect that war can have on people. The mere idea that traveling somewhere without permission could be treated as a greater offense than violating and murdering another human being demonstrates Heller’s point that the human race can at times be a vile, hypocritical race that has no respect for its individuals.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kirsten that the most powerful scene in the novel is when he looks for the Natley’s whore kid sister. Yossarian had to embrace the fact that war is causing destruction in the “eternal city” and that the events there are catastrophic even for a well structured city. The warfare and distraught in the highly acclaimed city of Rome is unable to maintain a civil structure for their citizens to live in. As he patrols the street he sees animals, children, women being beaten which greatly puts the war in perspective for him. He realizes that the war causes destruction to powerful cities and that he is not only fighting for him and the American military, but is possibly harming other countries and that discourages him to be involve in warfare. I also agree with Kirsten’s point that this scene represents the “atrocities and hypocrisies” of the warfare because of the contradiction with Aarfy and the policemen. Although this chapter exemplifies the atrocities and hypocrisies, I believe that the realization of Catch 22’s true meaning is the best reason why the chapter is the most powerful scene in the novel.
ReplyDeleteHe realizes that the war is illogical and that the Catch 22 is convoluted with unreasonable reasoning and it creates distraught within the structure of the city. As he begins to ask the old lady in the house where all of the whore’s were, she tells them that Catch 22 made it possible for the soldiers to control the vital structure that needs to be created to have a prospering city. Yossarian realizes that the soldiers and colonel’s use this concept to gain a prolific advantage over anything that seems unreasonable and to backfire it against the other lower levels of powers, whether it is determined by rank or social class. As he discovers this logic, I believe that this is able to give him more hope of escaping towards the end of the book to find the kid sister in order for his life to be cleared of a guilty conscience which due to the spite of warfare.
I believe this was a great passage written by Heller to describe the main factuality of the disparity of the war, but to also clarify the enormous concept of Catch 22 and the illogic it provides towards the destruction of the “eternal city.”
I agree with the thought of Snowden's and Kid Sampson's deaths being very powerful and touching, but to me the most emotionally wrenching scene was when Milo betrayed the Americans. Warning the Germans of American attack was cruel, but the straw is drawn when Milo "landed" a contract with the Germans that allowed them to bomb his own men and their aircraft.
ReplyDeleteHeller does an outstandinng job at creating the scene. The scene is created almost as quickly as it is destroyed, and that brings emotion to me as a reader because everything seems so new, and then it is gone in the blink of an eye. The remnants are unfortunate and described with phrases like "the unruly, bewildered mass." Things are obviously out of control when men were told to be "running crazily toward the hills in their underwear with their stunned faces down.." Nobody knew what to do.
Joseph Heller also does a great job telling how Colonel Cathcart felt when he discovered that Milo's planes were the ones flying above. In a struggle to get to the bottom of it, he "hurled himself headlong into his jeep, almost sobbing," and rushed to the airfield. Upon arriving there, he angrily grabbed a microphone that he thought Milo could hear him through and screamed nasty, upset things to him, showing he was on the verge of a meltdown. Reading that a Colonel who always seemed so tough responded as emotionally as he did, brings a lot of power to this scene as a whole.
I have to agree with many of the people who have already posted, when stating that the most emotionally powerful scene in the novel is the death of Snowden. Like Hannah said, Snowden's death was mentioned numerous times throughout the novel, but never really described fully. When the time came for his death to be laid out in detail, Heller already had the reader waiting with baited breath to find out how he died. However, even after all of the build up to Snowden's death, the reader is still suspecting some normal, yet tragic death, similar to the ones depicted throughout the rest of the novel. And because of this, Heller is able to shock the reader with Snowdens greusome death, eliciting a strong emotional response.
ReplyDeleteAdding on to the emotion laced throughout the scene is how Yossarian responds to Snowden's sordid demise. The reader gains a glimpse into Yossarians mind and sees that Yossarian is desperately doing everything he can to help save Snowden, but he knows that it probably will be to know avail. Phrases like "'you're going to be all right, kid,' Yossarian reassured him with a grin. 'You're going to be all right.'," make the reader feel the same pain the Yossarian does when watching Snowden in his damaged state.
Heller continues to walk the reader through Yossarians mindset. After Snowden gives Yossarian a wan, cooperative smile, Yossarian "worked with renewed confidence and optimism." Heller wants the reader to get the fulll sense of the scene by showing him that even though there is little hope, Yossarian is going to do his best anyways, just like the reader would do.
And finally, after Heller has completely engaged to the reader, to the point where the reader is completely engrossed in Yossarians mindset, hoping that Snowden will pull through, Heller drops the bomb on the reader when Yossarian realizes that Snowdens insides are mush. Heller continues depicting the scene as Yossarian forces himself to reassure Snowden before finally sending him to a watery grave. Throughout the final moments of the scene, the reader is completely shocked by Snowdens doomed state. Because he is completely absorbed in the scene, the reader cannot help but become emotional as he envisions Yossarian, or even himself, reassuring a condemned man before his death.
Heller purpose is to paint death is a different light. Throughout the novel, people have been dying constantly, without a notice from anyone in the book or the reader. But with Snowden, the reader gets the full force of how greusome death is, and all of the emotions that come along with it. Heller does not want the reader to become numb to the feelings associated with death, and because of this, he adds in the extremely emotional scene of Snowden dying.
I agree with JP and Scott, I believe that the scene where Kid Sampson is murdered by McWatt’s plane propeller slicing him in half was the most emotionally effective scene. The chapters lead up to the event leaves the reader unsuspecting of what is to take place. At the very beginning Yossarian is talking about how McWatt is the only pilot he will fly with even though his morale for flying is extremely low. In the conversation they have we, as readers, can make the assumption that they are very close and have a strong friendship. Then, the chapter continues explaining Yossarian and Nurse Duckett’s new relationship and how they like making love on the beach. The fact that the murder is just so abrupt and unsuspected is something that adds to the emotional effectiveness of the scene. In less than ten lines Yossarian goes from reaching “out ravenously to grasp and hold Nurse Duckett’s flesh.” to watching McWatt’s plane drop “down just low enough for a propeller to slice him [Kid Sampson] half away.”
ReplyDeleteI believe Heller’s purpose for killing off 2 of the people Yossarian has befriended and come to trust is showing us what the war was like and savagely ingraining the moment in our minds. In a moment everything can be gone, like Scott said, life is very fragile. I believe Heller portrayed that here. In a couple moments of joking around one person was killed and the other committed suicide.
Not to disparage those who thought that kid Sampson’s death was the most powerful scene in the novel, but personally I didn’t find it all that moving. Yes, the scene was horrifically vivid and even somewhat hard to stomach, so I can see how this passage could leave a big impression on someone, but amidst the backdrop of the countless graphic deaths that occur in this novel, I think that this scene loses some of its venom. Whereas the scene of Snowden’s death is a pivotal point in the plot and has much of the emotion of the novel focused into one point, Kid Sampson’s demise seems to be just another one of the deaths Yossarian encounters throughout this ever-maddening tale.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I find McWatt’s suicide, which was prompted by his killing of Sampson, to be a far more moving scene. It seemed to me as if Heller only included kid Sampson’s death as a means to explain why McWatt committed suicide. Kid Sampson was, after all, a very minor character in the story up to this point, whereas McWatt was one of Yossarian’s closest friends. Certainly, the emotional impact of kid Sampson’s death was heightened by the fact that he was so young, but, and I don’t know if this is just me, as a reader I felt very little attachment to Kid Sampson. In fact, I was so much more upset by McWatt’s death that I barely remember mourning the loss of Kid Sampson as I read through the book. I believe that the style in which Kid Sampson died has the power to constitute a very powerful scene, but I feel that the intensity of the passage was sort of wasted on a character which I personally had no strong feelings for one way or another.