1、Life story (1) Joseph Heller was born in Brooklyn in 1923. He served as an Air Force bombardier(投彈手） in World War II and enjoyed a long career as a writer and a teacher. His best-selling books include Something Happened, Good as Gold, Picture This, God Knows, and Closing Time, but his first novel, ,

2、 remains his most famous and acclaimed work. He died of a heart attack in December 1999.第1頁/共24頁 Life story (2) The title of this work (Catch-22)entered the English lexicon to refer to absurd, no-win choices, particularly in situations in which the desired outcome of the choice is an impossibility,

3、and regardless of choice, the same negative outcome is a certainty /any illogical or paradoxical problem or situation is widely regarded as one of the best post-World War II satirists. 第2頁/共24頁 Anti-war Black humor Serious Absurd “People go to fight wars because they dont understand the seriousness

4、of what theyre doing. Joseph Heller第3頁/共24頁Thematic Concern Institutionalized Absurdity of the Society Vs. Integrity of the Individual Anti-hero第4頁/共24頁第5頁/共24頁Catch-22 One of the most influential book in modern literature . Huge impact on popular culture and literary circles It introduced the post

5、war world to the concept of Black Humor, also This book also gives us the first true 第6頁/共24頁Black Humor It is a term applied to a large group of American novels beginning in the 1950s. Although the writers of black humor did not intentionally form a school or literary movement, there is in their no

6、vels a common core of which is directed against hypocrisy, materialism, racial prejudice, and above all, the dehumanization of individual by a modern society. 第7頁/共24頁Black Humor In their opinion, the society is full of institutionalized absurdity. Therefore, all of them hold a cynical attitude towa

7、rd society and the conventional moral values which support that society. This despondency is reflected in their novels, not by angry protest, but by the use of exaggeration as a vehicle for . The satire is based on the exposition and exaggeration of the abnormal and the seamy side of both people and

8、 society to the point of ridiculousness and absurdity. It is humor out of despair and laughter out of tears. 第8頁/共24頁Black Humor In literature, drama, and film, grotesque or morbid humor used to express the absurdity, insensitivity, paradox, and cruelty of the modern world. Ordinary characters or si

9、tuations are usually exaggerated far beyond the limits of normal satire or irony. Black humor uses devices often associated with tragedy and is sometimes equated with tragic farce. 第9頁/共24頁Black Humor A kind of humor in which disturbing or sinister subjects such as death, disease, or warfare, are tr

10、eated with bitter amusement, usually in a manner calculated to offend and shock. It is strongly evident in modern American fiction from Nathanael Wests A Cool Million (1934) to Joseph Hellers Catch-22 (1961) and Kurt Vonneguts Slaughterhouse-Five (1969).第10頁/共24頁 A central character in a dramatic or

11、 narrative work who lacks the quality of nobility and magnanimity expected of traditional heroes and heroines in romances and epics. Unheroic characters of this kind have been an important feature of the Western novel, which has subjected heroism to parody since Cervantess Don Quixote (1605). Flaube

12、rts Emma Bovary (in Madame Bovary, 1857) and Joyces Leopold Bloom (in Ulysses, 1922) are outstanding examples of this antiheroic ordinariness and inadequacy.Anti-hero第11頁/共24頁 The anti-hero is also an important figure in modern drama, both in the theatre of the absurd and in the tragedies of Arthur

13、Miller, notably Death of a Salesman (1949). In these days, as in many modern novels, the protagonist is an ineffectual failure who succumbs to the pressure of circumstances. The anti-hero should not be confused with the antagonist or the villain.Anti-hero第12頁/共24頁Catch-22-plot It is about the story

14、of Captain Joseph Yossarian and his attempt to avoid serving in World War II by feigning insanity. However, Yossarian is thwarted by the doctors argument that if he were truly mad then he would endanger his life and seek to fight more missions. On the other hand, if he were sane, then he would be ca

15、pable to following orders to fight more missions. Thus the phrase catch-22 came to mean a proviso（限制性條款） that trips one up（絆倒） no matter which way one turns.第13頁/共24頁Catch-22 “There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for ones own safety in the face of dangers th

16、at were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didnt, but if he was sane he ha

17、d to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didnt have to; but if he didnt want to he was sane and had to. 第14頁/共24頁第二十二條軍規 瘋子才能獲準免于飛行，但必須由本人提出申請； 同時又規定，凡能意識到飛行有危險而提出免飛申請的，屬于頭腦清醒著，應繼續執行飛行任務。因為如果一個人真的神志不清，他會主動執行飛行任務，因此便沒有人能獲準免于飛行。 第二十二條軍規還規定，飛行員飛滿上級規定的次數就能回國，但它又說，你必須絕對服從命令，要不就不準回國。因此上級可以不斷給飛行員增加飛

18、行次數，而你不得違抗。如此反復，永無休止。第15頁/共24頁Catch-22-Characters Yossarian Colonel Cathcart Milo Minderbinder Orr Chaplain A. T. Tappman Dunbar Nately Snowden第16頁/共24頁YossarianThe protagonist and hero of the novel. Yossarian is a captain in the Air Force and a lead bombardier（投彈手） in his squadron（空軍中隊）, but he hat

19、es the war. His powerful desire to live has led him to the conclusion that millions of people are trying to kill him, and he has decided either to live forever or, ironically, die trying. 第17頁/共24頁He avoids flying combat missions by all means possible: by moving the bomb line on the map of Italy pre

20、ceding the Bologna mission, by poisoning the squadrons potatoes, by dismantling his intercom and ordering his plane to turn back, and by feigning a liver condition to pass the time safely in the hospital. Yossarian第18頁/共24頁Colonel Cathcart The ambitious, unintelligent officer in charge of Yossarians

21、 squadron. Colonel Cathcart wants to be a general, and he tries to impress his superiors by bravely volunteering his men for dangerous combat duty whenever he gets the chance. As he tries to scheme his way ahead, he considers successful actions “feathers in his cap”（功績） and unsuccessful ones “black

22、eyes.” （失敗）第19頁/共24頁Milo Minderbinder A fantastically powerful mess officer, Milo controls an international black-market syndicate（辛迪加 /財團） and is revered in obscure corners all over the world. He ruthlessly chases after profit and bombs his own men as part of a contract with Germany. Milo insists t

23、hat everyone in the squadron will benefit from being part of the syndicate and that “everyone has a share.” He also takes his job as mess officer very, very seriously; as a result, the troops in Yossarians division eat better than any others. 第20頁/共24頁Orr Yossarians often-maddening roommate. Orr is

24、a gifted fix-it（故障檢修員） man who is always constructing little improvements to the tent that he shares with Yossarian. He almost always crashes his plane or is shot down on combat missions, but he always manages to survive. He asks Yossarian to fly with him, but Yossarian refuses. Everyone things Orr is simple-minded because he stuffs his fat cheeks with apples. His pretend ignorance is actually a cover and the frequent crashes are really practice for his escape to Sweden. He wanted Yossarian to join him, but his roommate never took the hint. 第21頁/共24頁Yossarian：anti-hero The