The Nature of Sanity and Madness

Catch-22

The novel questions who is truly sane in a world that glorifies death.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Yossarian's sanity Yossarian's sanity from "Catch-22". The Rational Man The Fear Yossarian is afraid of dying. He wants to live. This is rational. The Label He is called crazy for refusing to fly.

Yossarian's sanity from "Catch-22". The Rational Man The Fear Yossarian is afraid of dying. He wants to live. This is rational. The Label He is called crazy for refusing to fly.

The Rational Man The Fear Yossarian is afraid of dying. He wants to live. This is rational. The Label He is called crazy for refusing to fly. But his refusal is the most sane response to an insane situation. The Paradox The sane ones are those who want to survive. The crazy ones are those who accept death without question.

The mad world The mad world from "Catch-22". The Insanity of War The System The military bureaucracy is insane. It values statistics over lives. It rewards destruction.

The mad world from "Catch-22". The Insanity of War The System The military bureaucracy is insane. It values statistics over lives. It rewards destruction.

The Insanity of War The System The military bureaucracy is insane. It values statistics over lives. It rewards destruction. The Characters Many characters are clearly mad: Hungry Joe, Havermeyer, Captain Black. Yet they function within the system. The Conclusion Sanity is subjective. In a mad world, the sane man is the one who recognizes the madness.

Throughout the novel