Catch-22 - Chapters 11-21

[Alana]

Discuss chapters 11-21.

[Pallavi]

Finished the chapters 11-21.
I liked the chapters from 17 to 21. All of them where hilarious.
(view spoiler)[
Funny how the number of missions were raising along with the raising frustration of Yossarian and Hungry Joe.
I loved the part where Yossarian had to act like a patient who is already dead when dead soldier's parents come to visit. Such a tragic event narrated in a very funny way.
I do hate Corporal Whitcomb, for the way he treats chaplain.
So many lives struggling with war!! Trying to live normally and some think that they have succeeded and some think they are struggling forever.
(hide spoiler)]

[Alana]

I'm finding almost all of it hilarious, since the situations aren't actually all that far-fetched for the military. The scenes that have disturbed me most are more the treatment of women, such as where the girls are raped by coercion because the men threaten to tell their parents that they're sleeping around with all the men if they DON'T actually sleep with all the men. It's told for laughs and the absurdity of it all, and Heller is clearly going after not only military absurdities, but social ones as well, but it's still very disturbing. I know it's supposed to be the way these immature males just act, for the story, but it's very troublesome.

[Pallavi]

Very True Alana. I too felt the same way. There are only 1 or 2 incidents where women are treated like human but other than that they are treated like an object. This is my first Joseph Heller book so I don't know if its his style or something. Or he IS really showing social absurdities as you said.

[Anirban]

I am on Chapter 20. This book all about illogicality of war, and so every character goes through almost insane events and thought processes. Only a person who has witnessed war can write a book like this. The chapter titled 'Luciana', or the one before 'Piltchard and Wren' give glimpses of acute sense of insecurity during war. So far this is a wonderful book and should be read slowly.

[Britany]

Finished this section last night--- not quite loving this, but not hating it either...