ACC English IV, Blog Two

"Men went mad and were rewarded with medals. All over the world, boys on every side of the bomb line were laying down their lives for what they had been told was their country, and no one seemed to mind, least of all the boys who were laying down their young lives."

Assignment
(Due Tuesday, 9.30):

1.) Read Catch-22, Preface & Chapters 1-3 (pp. 1-31)

2.) On your blog page, answer any three of the four questions below. Be sure to address all facets of the question(s) in depth and that you are supporting your opinions with textual evidence. If there is a link provided, you must read it first in order to formulate an answer.

3.) Leave at least one comment for a peer on their blog post for this week.

Question Options (Select Three to Answer)

a. ~ Compare Orr and Yossarian's conversation on pp. 23-24 to the dialogue exchanged between Clevinger and Yossarian on pp. 16-17 and 19-20. What is the difference between the two conversations? In either case, is anything resolved? Why or why not? How does Yossarian's role change depending on who he is talking to? Finally, from what you've read so far, what do most of the other characters think about Yossarian and conversely what does he think about most of them? Do these two conversations perhaps hint at why these feelings have been formulated?

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b. ~ In his speech on p. 26, Colonel Cargill compares the war to a film or play using the trusty metaphor, "theater of war". He continues, "These people are your guests! They've traveled over three thousand miles to entertain you. How are they going to feel if nobody wants to watch them?" Read Using Metaphors in Creative Writing and Metaphors of War then explain in your words how appropriate this particular metaphor is and why you believe Heller via Cargill uses it. Also, find at least one more metaphor used by Heller in the first three chapters.

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c. ~ On p. 14 Yossarian tells the Chaplain, "Insanity is contagious. This is the only sane ward in the whole hospital. Everybody is crazy but us." What does he mean by this? Similarly, who is the only person in the ward that nobody likes and why don't they like him. Explain what the demeanor of that person's eventual effect was upon the ward. This issue of insanity has already been repeated multiple times; who, in your opinion, exhibits the most insane tendencies thus far (be sure you are providing specific examples from the text)?

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d. ~ On p. 20, Clevinger tells Yossarian that he has a "Jehovah complex". Do you agree with Clevinger? Why or why not? There are several excellent examples of why someone may think this about Yossaian; what in the text supports this?