Continuing on our class discussion of Colonel Cathcart’s bravery I would argue that his manipulation of the mission counts is only exemplifying his own cowardice. Bravery is the ability to do something even though it is frightening. Cathcart never once puts his own life in danger instead he just continues to increase the mission count of the men under his command. This forces his men into frightening situations they cannot get out of and so also forces them to exhibit bravery, but the colonel himself never exhibits any. As far as I know Cathcart never explicitly states why he continues to raise the mission count, and so I argue that he does this in order to increase his own prestige and hopefully get transferred away from combat. Many things in this novel are not always as they seem and Cathcart is much like a man hiding behind a curtain and putting on a performance in order to hide his own ineptitudes. A truly brave commanding officer would rise to the challenge of new recruits and front-line duty, and not only would keep a low mission count but would also fly with his men and experience what he is putting them through.
The Berries announces forthcoming new album. Photo: Ajalena Dewolf Moura, used with permission. The Berries Announce New Self-Titled Album — Out August 29 A Return to Form for Matthew Berry The Ber…
Matthew Berry is back.
The Berries’ new self-titled album arrives August 29—an intimate, melancholic, and deeply personal return to form.
Read the full feature on the evolution of The Berries and why this might be Berry’s most powerful work yet. 🎶✨
#patreon2020sketchathon Sketch number 12! It's pretty funny that this one would come up the day after #schittscreek Cleaned house at the #emmys2020. Its #eugenelevy from that show and #matthewberry from the #toastoflondon (although I know him better from #whatwedointheshadows as #laszlo). I figured they'd be deep in a night at the bar so I'm calling this one Schittsfaced. I want to be that third wheel! For the next 18 days I'll be sharing one sketch a day where the two ideas came from my patreon supporters. The top 4 point getters move on to the finals! 1 point for a like, 2 points for a comment and 3 points for a share (tag me so I see it!). Winner gets turned into a painting. https://www.instagram.com/p/CFaS1WBJ6z7/?igshid=4r3orx76htj3
Summary of Olivia Chirobocea’s “Who Is the Enemy? The Blurred Lines of History in Joseph Heller’s Catch-22”
In Olivia Chirobocea’s “WHO IS THE ENEMY? THE BLURRED LINES OF HISTORY IN JOSEPH HELLER’S CATCH-22”, she explores how Heller uses the post-war American society mentalities to create an ambiguous enemy. By identifying key characteristics in society, she traces the inspiration for Heller’s different ideas of enemy he depicts in the novel. She then breaks down the different concepts of the enemy that we encounter in Catch-22. Finally, she addresses the ambiguity between friends and foes how Heller used those ideas to try and shape his idea of post-war America.
In post-war America tensions were high, and the American people needed an enemy to hate. The American public united against the communists and this was the beginning of the Cold War. Propaganda soared as the country tried to convince itself it was safe and right, and that the enemy they portrayed is evil. However, this was merely a cover as the underlying sentimentality of the American people was one of fear and mistrust. Heller portrayed this paranoia experienced by the American people as the insanity experienced by the enlisted men.
In Catch-22 the idea of the enemy is completely subjective depending on which character you are assessing. One thing that is common between most all of them though is that it is not the Germans. There is a significant lack of German and American conflict in this novel, but there is much conflict within the American squadron. Yossarian defines the enemy as “anyone who is going to get you killed, no matter what side [they] are on”, and for him that most aptly describes his Commanding Officer (CO), who continually raises his mission count and putting his life in danger. The COs also create an enemy out of the enlisted men by treating them as if they are obstacles in their race for glory or absurd ambitions.
By playing on these ideas of who is good and who is bad I agree with Chirobocea in Heller’s intentions. She proposed that he strove to demystify the American society of black and white ideas of good and bad, that it depends on your stance and opinions as to who the hero or enemy might be. This was most exemplified in the horrific treatment of the kind chaplain by the COs when he is most assuredly not an enemy. Chirobocea’s analysis helps shed light by giving key background details on the confusing ideas of enemies in post-war America.
