Catch 22

The following questions are from the Random House website

STARTING POINTS FOR YOUR DISCUSSION

1. Throughout the novel, scenes of unalleviated horror are interwoven with farcically comic scenes. How effective is this juxtaposition?
   
2. In what ways is Yossarian a typical literary hero? Would you class him as the novel's hero or its anti-hero?
   
3. Although Catch-22 is set in the Second World War, it was published at a time when America was going through great changes. To what extent do you think the novel provides a social commentary of the time in which it was written as well as of the era in which it was set? Are its issues still pertinent in today's society?
   
4. How do notions of power and bureaucracy function in Catch-22?
   
5. How do you react to the female characters? What role do they play in the narrative?
   
6. Catch-22 has a vast roll-call of hilarious characters. In what ways does Heller use them to develop his themes?