Catch - 22 an analysis of Nately's whore // the hypocrisy of the bureaucracy

5.21.2015

I have a new favorite book. While I didn't love it immediately, the more I read the more I understood the symbolism and purpose behind every word. Once I finished Catch-22 I was enamored. The way the story pieces together to show how ludicrous war is and how trauma can effect people is astounding and I highly recommend it. The following is a paper written for an independent study (entitled "Classic Literature") that I am taking. While it isn't the most eloquent, and the thesis is indeed listed (to my dismay), I believe that it provides an interesting perspective on the bureaucracy and the craziness or the world in which we live, and therefore would like to share it with you. For those of you who have not read Catch-22, get off your electronic device, head to your local book store, and pick up a copy. You won't regret it. Even if you're thinking "Oh gosh, a book about war?? I don't want to read that," you will enjoy it. It is the funniest book I have ever read, and I can't wait to read it again, because I'm sure I will notice more things the second time around that I failed to notice the first. Thus, without further ado, I present to you, "The Hypocrisy of the Bureaucracy" a paper by Carly Hughes. 

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While those who have read Catch-22 know how bizarre it is, many fail to realize the symbolism and the method within the madness. Throughout the book, author Joseph Heller uses commentary to demonstrate how Nately’s whore is a symbol of the bureaucracy that is trying to control Yossarian. He does this through having Nately’s whore become murderous at the same time that Yossarian begins to rebel, having her appear more frequently throughout the text as his capture comes ever closer, and having her successfully attack him when he finally submits to the ways of the bureaucracy.  

The murderous whore who is after Yossarin first appears as a symbol for the bureaucracy that is out to get Yossarin when he begins to rebel. When Yossarian discovered that the amount of missions needed to fly had been raised to 80 he had had enough. He “refused to fly any more missions” and “marched backward with his gun on his hip” as to be aware of anyone coming up behind him to try and force him to fly more missions (Heller 393).  At the point when Yossarian begins to cause a ruckus within his squadron, his commanding officer sends him to Rome in the hope that he will find his senses and come back willing to fly the extra missions. However, Rome is the place in which Nately’s whore comes into the picture. When Yossarian’s commanding officer sends Yossarian off to Rome as a way to deal with his rebellion, Nately’s whore is reintroduced and “trie[s] to stab him to death with a potato peeler” (Heller 393). While Yossarian’s rebellion and the reintroduction of the murderous whore may not be a cause and effect, Heller connects these two events in order to symbolize the control being exercised over Yossarian by the bureaucracy. While some may say that this is purely a coincidence, one must consider the clever timing Heller uses to demonstrate the dangers of defying those in control and using Nately’s whore as a way to symbolize this danger. 

As the story progresses and Yossarian continues to defy his commanding officers he continues to have run-ins with the deadly whore. She attacks him multiple times always seeming to be waiting just around the corner ready “to ambush” Yossarian with her “carving knife” (Heller 397, 398). The persistence of the whore and the disguises she dawns (Heller 397, 398) demonstrate the stealth and the relentlessness of the bureaucracy to control Yossarian. From “hiding in the bushes” to “waiting with her steak knife exactly where the plane had stopped” Nately’s whore never appears to give up and nor does the bureaucracy. By having Nately’s whore continue to show up through the book as Yossarian gets closer to succumbing to the bureaucracy, Heller furthers the connection of the symbolism. 

At the point when Yossarian finally gives in to the ways of the bureaucracy, Nately’s whore finally is successful in her attacks. The correlation between Yossarian making a deal with Colonel Korn and Colonel Cathcart and then being promptly attacked by Nately’s whore furthers the connection between the whore representing the bureaucracy. Moreover, one can attribute Nately’s whore’s failed attempt to murder Yossarian to him changing his mind about the deal and thus escaping the bureaucracy. This attribution can be seen as how the bureaucracy had Yossarian within their grasp, but letting him slip away.

Throughout Catch-22 many strange things happen, but none so strange as a murderous whore chasing after Yossarian throughout the final chapters of the story. Yet, within further inspection, the crazy whore had a specific purpose. Though reintroducing her when Yossarian rebells, having her show up more and more frequently while Yossarian gets closer and closer to succumbing to the hypocrisy of the bureaucracy and her only successful attack taking place moments after a deal with Yossarian’s higher-ups Heller users Nately’s whore as a symbol for the bureaucracy.