Catch-22 quotes from the satirical war novel by American author Joseph Heller is what we present to you here today and we hope you enjoy reading them.
The book was published in the year 1961 and its themes are relevant even today. It follows the journey of Captain Yossarian and how he tries to cope with his senseless wartime reality. The novel is rich in eccentric characters and makes for an engrossing read.
Here are 10 quotes from Catch-22 that we love to reread:
“They’re trying to kill me,” Yossarian told him calmly.
No one’s trying to kill you,” Clevinger cried.
Then why are they shooting at me?” Yossarian asked.
They’re shooting at everyone,” Clevinger answered. “They’re trying to kill everyone.”
And what difference does that make?”
“What is a country? A country is a piece of land surrounded on all sides by boundaries, usually unnatural. Englishmen are dying for England, Americans are dying for America, Germans are dying for Germany, Russians are dying for Russia. There are now fifty or sixty countries fighting in this war. Surely so many countries can’t all be worth dying for.”
“Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them. With Major Major it had been all three. Even among men lacking all distinction he inevitably stood out as a man lacking more distinction than all the rest, and people who met him were always impressed by how unimpressive he was.”
“When I look up, I see people cashing in. I don’t see heaven or saints or angels. I see people cashing in on every decent impulse and every human tragedy.”
“He was a self-made man who owed his lack of success to nobody.”
“There was no telling what people might find out once they felt free to ask whatever questions they wanted to.”
“Surely there can’t be so many countries worth dying for.’
Anything worth living for,’ said Nately, ‘is worth dying for.’
And anything worth dying for,’ answered the sacrilegious old man, ‘is certainly worth living for.”
“Catch-22 did not exist, he was positive of that, but it made no difference. What did matter was that everyone thought it existed, and that was much worse, for there was no object or text to ridicule or refute, to accuse, criticize, attack, amend, hate, revile, spit at, rip to shreds, trample upon or burn up.”
“I’m not running away from my responsibilities. I’m running to them. There’s nothing negative about running away to save my life.”
“I used to get a big kick out of saving people’s lives. Now I wonder what the hell’s the point, since they all have to die anyway.”
“Oh, there’s a point, all right,” Dunbar assured him.
“Is there? What’s the point?”
“The point is to keep them from dying as long as you can.”
“Yeah, but what’s the point, since they all have to die anyway?”
“The trick is not to think about that.”
“Never mind the trick. What the hell’s the point?”
Dunbar pondered in silence for a few moments. “Who the hell knows.”
Quick Summary:
