Betrayal And Deception In Joseph Yossarian's Catch-22

The concept of betrayal and deception is as old as humanity itself, and has been appearing in literature since humans first began to write. From the Bible itself to modern fiction, deception has been a major theme in literature, appearing in countless classic and important poems and novels. In the novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller deception is everywhere, on both minor and grand scales carried out by countless characters, however the most important deception comes from the protagonist of the story, Yossarian.

During the war Yossarian has one single goal: stay alive. All of his deceptions are carried out in the name of self preservation. Catch-22, starts off with almost immediate deception as Yossarian waits in the hospital with made up liver

damage. Throughout the novel Yossarian uses this fake affliction (with help from army personnel and doctors) to avoid flight missions and escape fighting in the safety of the hospital. Yossarian deceives his superiors to stay safe, even without any immediate threat to his life. However, later in the novel when is life is actually threatened Yossarian plans his greatest deception. The night before a dangerous air raid to Bologna, Yossarian sneaks into the command tent and shifts the bomb line. By moving the bomb line over Bologna Yossarian convinces his superior officers that the United States has captured Bologna, canceling the dangerous air raid. If this deception had been discovered Yossarian could have faced massive consequences, but Yossarians drive for survival is far greater than his concern for his reputation or military career. This deception could have potentially saved Yossarian’s life, and shows that Yossarian only lies and deceives others in the name of self preservation.
As great as Yossarians drive for survival might have been, there were other potential factors in Yossarian's deceptions. Yossarian lived surrounded by deception, his friends, soldiers and commanding officers all lied and schemed, deceiving each other and Yossarian. Some of these deceptions were malicious and dangerous, putting Yossarian’s life in danger. The most notable example of the corruption that surrounds Yossarian is General Cathcart, who repeatedly lied to and deceived all of his men. Despite the military only requiring thirty-five flight missions per pilot, Cathcart repeatedly raises the number until it hits 80 without alerting the men, forcing them to continue risking their life for him. Cathcart and the other Generals always promised the men they could leave when they complete their required number, however no one ever manages to finish before Cathcart raises the number again. Yossarian is constantly deceived by Cathcart and all of his other commanding officers and by many of his fellow soldiers. This drives Yossarian to near insanity, and begins to corrupt him. Spending years in this corrupting and deceitful environment begins to make Yossarian start questioning the true motives of the army and those around him, driving him to lie and deceive others in the name of self protection.
Throughout the entire novel deception is everywhere, manipulating and corrupting characters.

This toxic and deceitful environment is shocking, especially because the book focuses on the united states military. The tone of Catch-22 is vastly different from the other glamorous patriotic war novels of the time. Instead of focusing on glamorous, fictionalized tales of heroism, Catch-22 focuses on corruption and deception, and more importantly how Yossarian begins to see the war and all of its lies. This is how the novel begins to reveal one of its most important messages. It focuses on lies and suffering and reveals the real intentions of deceitful officers who justify their actions because its “for the good of the country”. Through this focus on corruption, lies and broken promises Yossarian begins to realize that war is not glamorous, no one fights or dies for their country, they fight and die on the orders of uncaring commanding officers. As Yossarian realizes the horrible truth of war, he helps convey it to the readers, constantly commenting on the futility of their fight, questioning orders like the bombing of an innocent village, and mourning is friends senseless death. He further shows his opinions of war by constantly trying to avoid conflict, faking injuries, fleeing to Rome and trying to have himself removed from active duty. Yossarian constantly criticizes his generals and is instrumental in helping the reader realize just how little they care about the war or their soldiers, more focused on their own personal glory, shown through Sheisskopf’s obsession with awards and parades and Cathcarts constant raising of flight missions required. These men risk nothing while putting young soldiers in unnecessary and life threatening situations just to raise their own status. Yossarian and Catch-22 use corruption and deceit to reveal a much larger lie, there is no honor in war, men kill and die for an uncaring commanding officer, not for freedom or their

country.
Yossarian’s deceptions throughout the novel are largely motivated by a drive for survival and a corrupting dangerous environment. Yossarians own deceit and all of the lies present around him and the story are vital in sharing Catch-22’s message. War is not willingly fought for honor and freedom, war is fought by soldiers with no control over their own lives, fighting for the glory of a few commanders, and to desperatly protect their own life.