In Search Of The Authentic Existence

Catch-22 is now widely recognized as one of the most important books written by an American since World War Ⅱ. It concerns a World War Ⅱ bombardier named Yossarian who believes that his foolish, ambitious, mean-spirited commanding officers are more dangerous than the enemy. In order to avoid flying more missions, Yossarian retreats to a hospital with a mysterious liver complaint, sabotages his plane, and tries to get himself declared insane.However, Heller returns to World War Ⅱ not for the purpose of historical recreation, in other words, he writes about the war not simply because it was his own great formative experience, nor because he wants to provide the vicarious thrills of the conventional war novel. Rather, it's because the unsolved moral enigma of that period and that experience most closely expresses the conundrum of contemporary life fifteen years later.According to Sartre, the authentic individual is the person who accepts the responsibility of her or his own freedom. "To be free' does not mean to obtain what one has wished' but rather' to determine by oneself what to wish' (in the broad sense of choosing). In other words success is not important to freedom". The individual achieves authenticity by choosing to be engaged with and committed to her or his own project or, by having concern for her or his future. The self creates itself, whatever meaning a meaningless world has for itself. For the existentialist, any salvation of society must begin with the self—a nation populated by individuals in bad faith is nothing but absurd. The isolated individuals must accept the responsibility of their own freedom with some recourse to community values. According to Dewey, the premier pragmatist, human beings strive for unique individuality or fulfillment of capacities with a unique angle of vision and, at the same time, to improve the quality of their associations and to establish new common ground in friendship and communication. Dewey maintains that individuality is made from the stuff of common conditions. Individuals fulfill their unique capacities by means of transactions based upon what they have in common - language, communication,meanings, experience, economic conditions, and even physical ("natural") conditions. In other words individuality and association are not mutually exclusive, but mutually inclusive and interdependent results. We try out what we are with others. In addition, through communication, actual experience for one becomes possible experience for another. In this way, imaginative visions of new possibilities and proposed strategies for action are enhanced and furthered sufficient communication.This thesis is an attempt to interpret the novel from the perspectives facilitated by these two philosophies.The first chapter of this thesis is an analysis of three types of characters who share the same characteristics: they are Yossarian's pals and they face the same situation with Yossarian. However, compared sharply with Yossarian, some of them accept the rules given them by the patronizing yet irresponsible apparatus without examining the values that favor the system, like Clevinger and Wintergreen; some of them who are at home in this intolerable world show ways of enduring within the present state of affairs, but represent particularly chilling examples of lost human identity, like Milo and Aarfy. But there is also a very special character in the novel, Orr. I will argue that Orr's existence is partly inauthentic and at the same time, his behavior is forgivable.Yossarian once belongs to one of them but finally is above them, for in his ultimate revolt he becomes their leader and, by refusing to fly any more missions, saves the remnant. Therefore Chapter Two reveals how he comes to develop a consciousness of himself as a free and moral being and how he finally undertakes a sort of existentialist quest for the authentic existence. I will also argue for the morality of Yossarian's desertion. Many readers have questioned whether Yossarian's desertion is a responsible act or merely another case of avoidance. But I think mere can be little doubt that Heller intended it as a responsible one. On one of his charts Heller wrote, "In making the decision to desert, Yossarian accepts the responsibility he now knows he has to the other men. As he says, he is not running away from his responsibility but run to them."Chapter Three is dedicated to the study of the search for the real communicationin the novel. In this chapter I will examine the communities in the island and try to show what the real community and communication should be according to the philosophy of Sartre and the philosophy of John Dewey. Therefore, the small, burgeoning community that consists of Yossarian, Chaplain Tappman, and Major Danby allows us certain hope.The point of this thesis is that among this generally stark vision of an oppressive and meaningless world is, occasionally, there is an enlightening ray of hope for humanity in the form of an isolated character's experience of self-awareness or of existential recognition of certainty amid the chaotic flux and his or her concern for others or his or her recognition of the value of cooperation and communication with his fellows.