In Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, Captain Yossarian is a World War II bombardier who wants to escape the madness of war. He faces a paradoxical military rule called Catch-22, which says that if he wants to avoid dangerous missions, he must be insane—but asking to be excused proves he’s sane and therefore ineligible. Trapped by bureaucracy and surrounded by absurdity, Yossarian watches friends die and systems fail. The novel satirizes war, power, and reason, showing how logic is twisted to keep people stuck in impossible situations.
