Madness in Catch 22 In all of history, no war seems to have touched the minds of people around the world as much as World War II. This war resulted in some of the worst human rights abuses ever seen. The German Army created a system that the public had to follow, and if the individual objected, they were oppressed. This type of mentality is presented in the novel Catch-22 (1955). Joseph Heller uses the crazy situations of the setting and its characters to show a unique perspective on World War II. A small Air Force base serves as the setting for Catch-22. It is set on a fictional island called Pianosa. The island is described as very small and is located in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Elba, Italy. It is set in the time of World War II. The island acts almost as a microcosm of the war taking place around it. This setting satisfies almost all the difficulties faced by victims of World War II. The Air Corps dominates this island and its soldier inhabitants. A system is established that all soldiers must obey. This system is kept alive through a "catch-22". Basically the catch-22 is a trap set by the military bureaucracy to fly all the soldiers into battle. It's best summed up in a piece of dialogue from the novel. It's shared between the main character, Yossarian, and the base doctor, Daneeka: "Yossarian looked at him soberly and tried another approach. 'Is Orr crazy?' “Of course he is,” said Dr. Daneeka. “Can you ground him?” “Of course I can. But first he has to ask me." "Then why doesn't he ask you?" "Because he's crazy," said Doctor Daneeka. "He must be crazy to keep flying combat missions after all the trouble he's had. Sure, I can ground him, but he has to ask me first." "And then can you ground him?" Yossarian asked. "No. Then I can't ground him." "You mean there's a problem?" "Of course there is a problem," Dr. Daneeka replied. "Anyone who wants to retire from combat duty isn't really crazy." "( Heller, 46)This bureaucratic trap is accepted by most naive soldiers. This is why the military is able to make soldiers do whatever they want them to do.