Justin Eng
AP English 1O
April 19, 2013
Catch-22 Essay- 2003 Prompt
Joseph Heller’s Catch 22 is a novel of extreme confusion and conflict with physical and societal enemies. May of the characters face situations in which different aspects of their lives clash together and tear apart the individual’s personality. Such is the case with the chaplain, a religious person on the front lines of a chaotic war. The chaplain’s religiousness and the institution of the Army collide multiple times, leading the chaplain to question himself.
The chaplain is one of the few purely good characters in this novel; despite all the negativity in his surroundings, the chaplain stays faithful and thinks of his family very often. He makes a few friends in Nately and Yossarian, and he tries to do anything for them, including grounding Yossarian. However, the chaplain’s attempts to institute religious practices and help his friends are blocked by the officers in the Army. When the chaplain tries to persuade the officers to ground Yossarian, he shows his faith in his friends, but that notion clashes with the institution of the Army. The chaplain’s desire to stand up for his beliefs is blocked by his fear of the soldiers, especially Colonels Cathcart and Korn. Eventually the chaplain loses his purity and innocence; something clicks inside him after Nately dies. He starts to lie, as he figures out that lying is more efficient and effective than telling the truth. The chaplain also helps Yossarian escape to Sweden, by far the most rebellious action that he has done so far in the novel. The new chaplain is better suited to survive in the dangerous and confusing world that he lives in, but his innocence is corrupted by violence and lies.
The chaplain plays a huge role in shaping the theme of Catch 22 in the sense that his journey from pure good to corruption highlights the author’s message that society’s institutions will break even the most faithful of individuals. A central theme of the story is that the government and army are incompetent of managing all the troops in battle, and that the soldiers are having psychological problems because of all the chaos. The chaplain came into the war as a faithful and innocent “man of the church,” a novice in war experience. After spending time in the war zone, the chaplain becomes a veteran of both the societal and literal battlefields. He learns to stand up against his superiors and helps Yossarian escape, exhibiting his newfound experience in each respective war. The chaplain’s story follows the path of every other character in the story. He ultimately “dies” in combat, not physically, but spiritually. The chaplain clearly undergoes a change throughout the course of the novel. The collision of his religion and the institution of the Army clearly trouble the chaplain enough to change how he sees life; he even goes so far as to question religion itself. While he was not a physical casualty, the chaplain died in a psychological way. He changed to survive the war at the cost of his purity.