Satire and Black Humor in Catch-22The only thing that was going on was a war, and no one seemed to notice except Yossarian and Dunbar. Yossarian is one of the few "normal" characters in the books, or at least he thinks he is. As the story progresses, it seems like no one is "normal." The values ​​either no longer apply or apply in reverse. In this backward world of Catch-22, where everyone is crazy, Heller uses dark humor and satire to shed light on an otherwise sad situation. The satire in the book mainly attacks three general things: senior military officers, professional and business interests, and society interests. Significant reliance on forms, documents, rules and regulations. Senior officers generally try to intimidate and persecute the soldiers, obviously increasing the number of missions, putting the men's lives in even more danger (Young 2). They are very selfish and have distorted ideas about what they can do and what they can make the squadron do. They only do what they are told to do and have very few, if any, original thoughts. General Dreedle, for example, tries to have Danby shot because he complained during a mission briefing while in his presence. Another example of their distorted beliefs is when Lieutenant Schisskopf has the idea to stick pegs into each man's thighs and join them together with copper wire so that the men can march better. Captain Black initiates the Pledge of Allegiance Crusade, in which men must sign oaths of allegiance for virtually every task they have to perform during the day. They have to sign oaths to get map cases, get flak suits, be taken on their planes, and even eat or get their hair cut. His theory is that the more loyalty oaths men sign, the more the ... center of paper ... found in all parts of the book, play a crucial role in making Catch-22 more enjoyable to read, and depicting the conditions experienced by the soldiers. Without the humor, it seems like a very disturbing and depressing story. The characters are crazy, but we have a good laugh at their expense. However, Catch-22 can be interpreted in many different ways. What may be funny to one person may be disturbing to another. Like any book, there is no wrong interpretation. Works Cited Heller, Joseph. Capture 22. New York: Simon & Schuster Inc., 1989.Merrill, Robert. Joseph Heller. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1987. Young, Robert M. “Unconscious Deadly Logics in Joseph Heller's Catch-22.” Magill, Frank N. "Catch 22." Main plots. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1976.