Chapters 21-24
Heller’s novel “Catch-22” seems to shine a light on the corruption that fills the armed forces and government. For example, Heller points to the huge competition for the position of General, and all of the many things that men are willing to do to impede others from getting the title. One prominent instance is the action taken by ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen who meddles with the mail to prevent anyone, in this case Colonel Cathcart, from being eligible for the position (212). Not only is it illegal for one to interfere with the mail in America, but the person committing the act in this case works for the government and is trying to become a general. It’s terribly disheartening to know that the men that would be leading the nation are the ones willing to commit illegal acts. Another example is the actions of Milo Minderbinder against his own men, the people of his syndicate. Milo is a fantastic business man but he has no allegiances and does not know how far is too far. It is one thing to misuse the money that the government has given him to purchase food, but it’s another thing to be working with both sides of the war. The worse part of it is simply that all of the men in the squadron have a share of the syndicate and although they are technically making money off of the bombing of their barracks, their shares mean nothing to them if they are dead from the bombs (252). All of this seems to be Heller’s message that the “good guys” are just as corrupt as the “bad guys.”
