Existentialism In Catch-22

Catch-22, representative book of Joseph Heller, is regarded as the first and greatest canon of black humor. Western critics say it is one of the greatest works of1960’s. Since its publication, many critics analyze it from various angles. This paper mainly focuses on the existential perspective. Existentialism is one of the main philosophical trends in twentieth century, and then it spreads to the literary field. From the origin and development of existentialism, this paper introduces Sartre’s works and thoughts.This paper analyzes two of Sartre’s existential theories:alienation and freedom. The alienation part includes three aspects:firstly, there is alienation in the spiritual level. Under capitalist system, people can not communicate and they even frame and persecute one another. Secondly, there is alienation between men. In Catch-22, Heller reveals the confrontation and conflict among bureaucratic commanders, between the commanders and pilots and among the ordinary people. Thirdly, man alienates to object. Man alienates with his own nature, losing free will and easily being manipulated by others.The theory of freedom is very important in Sartre’s existential theory. Sartre believes in absolute freedom, negating anything in existence to resist man’s freedom. First of all, he negates the existence of God. Then, he puts forward the slogan of "free choice" which means man can make a choice according to his own will and he has to be responsible for his own choice. The two theories are greatly embodied in Catch-22.Existentialism is the foundation of black humor. As the representative works of black humor, Catch-22embodies existentialism, which reveals alienation in the absurd world and the possibility of free choice.