In Catch-22, Joseph Heller reveals the perversions of the human character and society. Using various themes and a unique style and structure, Heller also satirizes war and its values as well as using the war setting to satirize society at large. By manipulating the "classic" war setting and language of the novel, Heller is able to depict society as dark and twisted. Heller demonstrates his depiction of society through the institution of war (i.e. its effects and problems during and after war). In the novel, the loss of individuality through the lives of the soldiers; the insanity of war and Heller's solution to insanity; and the idea of "there is always a catch" in life shows to a dramatic extent. Heller's novel not only satirizes war, but all of society; through a theme of insanity, and the satiric values shown throughout the novel, Heller provides a commentary that reveals the insanity in many, and exploits the effects of a military bureaucracy on one’s mind.
In Catch-22, Heller exploits how the individual soldier loses his uniqueness, not as much from the battlefield like other novels set during a war, but from the bureaucratic mentality. For example, Lt. Scheisskopf's obsession with parades shows given by how he views the men merely as puppets rather than as human beings. At one point in the novel, he even wants to “wire them together” so their movements will be perfectly precise - just as lifeless, mindless puppets. This theme also appears when Colonel Cathcart keeps increasing the number of missions his squadron must fly and not for military purposes, but to solely enhance his prestige. Heller illustrates this idea again, when Yossarian becomes wounded. He’s ordered to take better care of his leg because of his superior’s claim of it being “government property.” Soldiers, therefore, are not even people, but simply property that can be listed on an inventory. In a bureaucracy, as Heller shows, individuality can ultimately be distinguished as...