Catch-22 — Chapter-by-Chapter Notes
Use this as you read - important points and questions for each section
🏥 The Hospital and the Logic
Chapters 1–5: The Texas Chaplain and the Soldier in White
What Happens
- Captain Yossarian is in the hospital, faking a liver ailment to avoid flying missions.
- He meets the Texan (who is so nice everyone hates him) and the “Soldier in White” (who is completely encased in bandages and might not even be alive).
- We are introduced to the various characters on the base: Milo, Doc Daneeka, and the incompetent Colonel Cathcart.
Important Points
- Catch-22 First Mentioned: Doc Daneeka explains why Yossarian can’t be grounded. The paradox is that concern for one’s safety in the face of real danger is the process of a rational mind.
- The Missions: Colonel Cathcart keeps raising the number of required missions just as Yossarian is about to reach the limit.
Questions to Consider
- Why does Yossarian claim that “everyone is trying to kill me”? Is he being literal or metaphorical?
🏗️ The Syndicate and the Absurdity
Chapters 6–15: Major Major and Milo Minderbinder
What Happens
- We learn the backstory of Major Major Major Major, who was born with a redundant name and promoted to Major by an IBM machine. He only allows people to see him when he is not in his office.
- Milo Minderbinder, the mess officer, founds “M&M Enterprises.” He begins trading silk for eggs, and eventually, the entire world is part of his “syndicate” where everyone “has a share.”
Important Points
- The Profit Motive: Milo becomes so powerful that he is essentially a sovereign nation. He even starts contracting his bombers out to the Germans, bombing his own base because the Germans paid him more.
- The Loss of Integrity: The military is shown to be a business, and human lives are just expenses to be managed.
Chapters 16–25: Luciana and the Eternal City
What Happens
- Yossarian goes on leave to Rome. He falls in love with Luciana but loses her because of his own cynicism.
- Back on base, the missions get more dangerous. Clevinger disappears in a cloud. Orr, Yossarian’s tent-mate, keeps “crashing” his plane on purpose.
Important Points
- Orr’s Precaution: Orr is constantly doing things that seem “crazy” (like putting crab apples in his cheeks) that turn out to be practical survival strategies.
💀 The Darkness and the Secret
Chapters 26–38: Snowden and the Eternal City
What Happens
- The novel takes a dark turn. Nately, a wealthy young officer, is killed in action.
- Yossarian wanders through Rome in a “Night Journey” (Chapter 39 - The Eternal City), witnessing the absolute depravity and suffering caused by the war.
- He finally recalls the full memory of Snowden’s death on the mission to Avignon.
Important Points
- Snowden’s Secret: When Yossarian opens Snowden’s flak suit, his entrails spill out. The “secret” is: “The spirit gone, man is garbage… rip him open and he spills like a broken bag.”
- The Absolute Moral Collapse: Yossarian realizes that the bureaucracy doesn’t care about “The Soldier in White”—he is just a placeholder in a system that values the idea of a hero over the life of a man.
🛶 The Escape
Chapters 39–42: The Bargain and the Choice
What Happens
- Colonel Cathcart and Colonel Korn offer Yossarian a deal: he can go home if he agrees to “like” them and tell everyone they are great leaders.
- Yossarian initially accepts but then realizes it is a “Catch-22” of his own soul.
- He learns that Orr didn’t die—he rowed a lifeboat all the way to Sweden and escaped the war.
- Inspired by Orr, Yossarian deserts the army and heads for Sweden.
Important Points
- The Victory of the Individual: Yossarian refuses to be part of the “syndicate” or the “military machine.” His desertion is presented as the only sane act in an insane world.
📝 Your Notes
Reflect on the “Secret of Snowden” and how it changes Yossarian here:
Chapter-by-Chapter Notes created: 2025-12-25
For Great Literature 105 - Book 10 of 10