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The Inevitability Of Death In Joseph Heller's Catch 22

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In Catch 22, Joseph Heller exposes the random structure of a person’s lifetime by revealing how the format of the story governs the characters lives, and noting the inevitability of death. The motif of time is reoccurring throughout the novel. Joseph Heller shares his opinion on life and death, which could be interpreted as; Death is not to be feared but shows us that we need to use the time we have in a fruitful and advantageous way.
If we look at Yossarian, we see that he is controlled by the thought and desire to live every minute to its fullest. It seems as if he is racing against the clock to beat death at a game that doesn’t even exist. He is running until death catches up with him. Doc Daneeka talks about how his budding private practice was put on pause because of the war, and his efforts to help his country. Nately, a young nineteen- year-old boy, falls in love with a whore in Rome, changing his life for good or for bad. All of these changes happen because of the time period. The war causes significant changes in each characters timeline.
The novel is told in a jumble of events involving past memories, allusions to the future, and memories only becoming clear as you advance throughout the story. You get a sense that the novel is nervous or hesitant about time passing. …show more content…
As we go through life we are born, live a life full of experiences, and eventually we pass on. Yossarian strives to do one thing: stay alive, or ironically, die trying. He imagines his own death and is surprised at how many different ways there are to die. The inevitability of death is not all negative in Yossarian’s life. This realization shows him how precious life is, and how he wants to live as long as humanly possible. Realizing that, he lives a life with no limits. He falls in love many times over. He lives a life with a vigorous attitude to do all that he can before the

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