A Tragic End

The depressing and macabre tone within the novel make it a tragedy. In the end, Walton describes Victor as a once noble man who was corrupted by tragic events. The need for revenge overtakes Victor as he feels that he must kill the Monster in order to make him feel the pain that the Monster caused him. This need for revenge eventually led to the downfall of both the Monster and Victor Frankenstein. As their anger grew and they began to want revenge more and more, they grew further from society. To me, this tragic ending recounts the main theme of the book: the danger of knowledge. However, Frankenstein's story helped Walton to realize that his life is more important than discovery and he ends up making the decision to turn around after breaking out of the ice.

Guilty Conscience

Throughout the novel, Victor falls into periods of extended illnesses. It begins after he creates the Monster and continues up until his wedding night. There is never any reason given for these illnesses, which leads me to believe that they are psychological. Whenever Victor has a confrontation with the Monster, he randomly falls ill. I believe his illnesses are a result of the guilt that he feels for creating the Monster. When William and Justine are killed, Victor blames himself and feels like their deaths are his fault. While the idea of someone becoming physically ill because of emotions is hard to believe, but there are examples of it in every day life.

No Sympathy Here

While reading this book, I had a hard time sympathizing with the Monster, whereas it was very easy for me to sympathize with Victor Frankenstein. I feel like the Monster should be appreciative of the life that Victor Frankenstein gave him, even if he is misunderstood by everyone. It is not Frankenstein's fault that the Monster is not accepted. Also, I do not think the Monster went about trying to get a mate the right way. Of course Victor is going to be skeptical about making him a mate when the Monster has stalked him, killed his best friend and love of his wife, and possibly his brother. The Monster's actions do not prove that he is willing of a mate, or that making a mate would not lead to further destruction. Contrastingly, the pathos that Shelley invokes for Victor left me feeling sympathetic towards him. As a firm believer of science, he did not know that creating the Monster would be a big mistake, but was only trying to further the reach of science and add to the knowledge of humanity. Admittingly, he did not go about some things the right way; however, he did not deserve the pain that the Monster caused him.

Gender Confusion

Throughout the novel, Shelly portrays women in a passive, concerned, and sacrificial manner. In several different instance they rely on the men to rescue them or simply accept the decisions of the male. An example of this is the outlook that Victor Frankenstein has towards his step-sister, Elizabeth. He believes that he must protect her against all wrong and that she is incapable of making her own decisions. Also, when Justine is accused of murdering Victor's brother, she cannot do anything about it herself, but must rely on Victor to get her pardoned. To me, the fact that Shelley puts women in such a secondary role is unfathomable and confusing. Although women were not greatly appreciated during the time this novel was written, it seems that Shelley would still want to make the women in the story have greater roles. It seems like a sellout attempt to make sure the book sells, since people may have not appreciated the book as much if it was more centered on women.

Opposites Attract

After the execution of Justine, Victor Frankenstein returns to Ingolstadt. Shortly after, he falls ill, and his friend Henry shows up just in time to nurse him back to health. In the novel, Henry serves as a foil character to Victor in that he is representative of openness, honesty, and companionship. Contrastingly, Victor represents secrecy throughout the novel, shown by his actions in hiding his creation from everyone. To me, this is a lot like real life regarding friends. A lot of times I feel like people's best friends have conflicting personalities with them, yet their friendship seems to work. Although this is not always the case, I think that it says something about the nature of people that they are closest with people who are not like them. They may possibly just admire their friends as opposites, strive to be like them, or even like them for the break they give themselves from their normal personality.

Secrets Are No Fun

As Victor becomes more entangled in his studies, he isolates himself from everything else in his life, including his family and friends. As he retreats away from all he's known, he takes refuge in his studies. This presents the theme of secrecy within the novel, as Victor grows away from everyone who loves him. He conducts experiments in secret and becomes obsessed with his studies. As this goes on, he becomes sickly and lonely. Although he believes he is pushing the boundaries of science, he creates the monster in secret, afraid that someone will steal his ideas. After the monster is made, Victor's obsession with finding him and killing him have remained a secret thus far in the book as well.

Foreshadowing = Suspense

In the first few chapters of the novel, foreshadowing is ubiquitous and plays an important role in the development of the story. The letters from Walton that begin the story tells the readers that Victor will undergo harsh times that will lead him to the North Pole. While telling his story, Victor mentions his unavoidable downfall several times. Even when focusing on his happy times earlier in his life, he always ties it back to how there was no he could avoid his doom. This foreshadowing adds suspense because the reader is constantly kept wondering what caused Victor's imminent downfall that he mentions. Also, the foreshadowing gives away the ending because the reader knows how Victor's situation ends up.

Not Kid Cudi's Pursuit of Happiness, But the Pursuit of Knowledge

“You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been.”

In the beginning of the novel, Walton is on a voyage to the North Pole in search of some knowledge or discovery of something not yet known to man. In a similar way, Victor Frankenstein sought to push the bounds of science and find the secret to creating life when he created the Monster. The reader learns that Victor's pursuit of knowledge led to his destruction and loss of all of those close to him. At my current point in the book, it is unclear whether or not Walton's search for knowledge proves to be his hubris or not. Hopefully, as Victor continues to tell his story, Walton will learn how destructive knowledge can be and make good decisions that will allow him to avoid a similar fate than Victor.

Same Old Story

In addition to setting up Frankenstein in a frame structure, Mary Shelley also uses parallelism. Two main characters, Walton and Victor Frankenstein, undergo similar experiences and feelings throughout the novel. In his second letter, Walton talks about how he is lonely on his voyage and has no one to discuss his feelings or share his accomplishments with. He turns to the rescued man, Victor Frankenstein, as a companion that he can relate to. Later in the novel, the reader begins to learn about the Monster's feelings of loneliness and lack of companionship. In the way they both seek friends, the Monster's and Walton's stories are paralleled. This suggests that the monster is misunderstood and may not be as different from everyone else as people believe.

Freeze Frame

Frankenstein is an example of a frame story, or a story within a story. The book starts with letters from Walton, an explorer on a voyage to the North Pole. At the end of the letters, Walton has rescued a stranger, who we later find out is Victor Frankenstein. By introducing Walton as the main character, Mary Shelley is able to add suspense to the novel. The reader is left with questions of how Victor Frankenstein became sick and why he is in a remote location. The use of a frame story allows Mary Shelley to tell the story in the present and flash back to the events that led to the current situation. Also, the use of a frame structure allows for the story to be told from different perspectives throughout the story. The reader is able to hear different events from several different narrators to gain a full understanding of what is going on.

This Is It

The entire novel leads up to the climax of the story, which exists in two parts. Firstly, Yossarian is offered the opportunity to go home and have his fellow soldiers fly his remaining missions for him. The second part of the climax is the recollection of Snowden's death in the arms of Yossarian and the impact it had on him. As Yossarian recalls the second part of the climax, he begins to feel an obligation to not force others to fly his missions for him. This leads into the falling action of the novel, where Yossarian decides not abandon the others and force them to fly his missions for him. Even though the end puts together all off the flashbacks within the book, I still think the amount of flashbacks was too repetitive and could be cut to a more manageable number. However, I think the end is an example of comic relief that exists throughout the book because Yossarian eventually just deserts the army.

Selective Mutes

""I'm cold," Snowden said. "I'm cold."

"There, there," said Yossarian. "There, there." He pulled the rip cord of Snowden's parachute and covered his body with the white nylon sheets.

"I'm cold."

"There, there."

In this final flashback, Yossarian recounts a traumatic event in which Snowden, a fellow soldier, dies in his arms. Throughout the novel, it has become progressively more evident just how much this event impacted his thoughts on the war, as well his paranoia that everyone is out to kill him. Also, this quote is important in that it is a perfect example of a major theme in the book, the loss of words. The war has changed Yossarian so much that as Snowden laid dying in his arms, he was unable to say anything to comfort or reassure him. This theme can be traced back to the beginning of the novel where Yossarian is deleting certain words and letters out of letters. To me, this theme is ironic because the powerful bureaucracy has taken the power out of the words of the soldiers, yet they manipulate the words to bind the soldiers into flying more missions and convicting them of crimes.

You Wouldn't Like the Chaplain When He's Angry

""Then you signed your name in somebody else's handwriting again," the colonel retorted with a shrug. "That's all that means."

"Oh, this is ridiculous!" the chaplain shouted, suddenly losing all patience. He jumped to his feet in a blazing fury, both fists clenched. "I'm not going to stand for this any longer! Do you hear? twelve men were just killed and I have no time for these silly questions. You've no right to keep me here, and I'm not going to stand for it."

In the above passage, the chaplain, a man who is accused and convicted of being guilty of the commission of crimes and infractions they do not know about yet, is pushed to the point where he can no longer take it. After having to endure several trivial questions followed by even more irrelevant pestering, the chaplain has a catharsis, or a release of emotion. The power system in the military is so corrupt that they are out to convict anyone and everyone with every offense possible. At the same time, they are given so much power that they can get away with doing so. Joseph Heller intended it to be this way within the book to satirize the power system and authoritative structure in the military. The round-about way that they interrogate the chaplain, as well as others earlier in the story, evokes amazement in the reader at just how rediculous the authorities in the military are. It gets to the point that their stupidity and lack of common sense almost serve as a source of comic relief.

To Be a Hero, Or Not To Be

In Catch-22, the main character, Yossarian, is a classic example of an antihero. He lacks many of the characteristics of a typical hero, especially the qualities of courage and bravery. Although Yossarian volunteered freely for service, he only goes on missions in order to be closer to reaching the required amount of missions to go home. He no longer shows any patriotism and is only concerned with saving his own life. Also, he appears to be deluded in his believe that everyone is trying to kill him, and seems like he is unable to form relationships or friendships with people. Admittingly, the missions on he is sent on are irrelevant and put the soldier's lives in danger for no important reason. Because of this, I don't blame him for not wanting to fly missions. In the end though, Yossarian is brave in his decision to not leave his fellow soldiers, but is ultimately cowardly, yet funny, in his actions to desert.

Underground Business

"...Milo contracted with the American military authorities to bomb the Germna-held highway bridge at Orvieto and with the German military authorities to defend the highway bridge at Orvieto with antiaircraft fire against his own attack. His fee for attacking the bridge for America was the total cost of the operation plus six percent, and his fee from Germany for defending the bridge was the same cost-plus-six agreement augmented by a merit bonus of a thousand dollars for every American plane he shot down. "

Milo, a main character within the novel, is a symbol for the capitalist enterprise and the negative effects it has on the world. He begins a business that takes advantages of the countries that have put so many people's lifes at stake. Although his business starts out as harmless, as time progresses Milo becomes increasingly greedy. No longer regarding the life of his friends or well-being of his country, he conspires with the Germans to have the U.S. bombed, just to make a profit. This is symbolic of how corrupt capitalism can become and how easily people forget their morals in an attempt to make a profit. Eventually, the countries even become inferior to the power of Milo's business, as he is able to avoid flying on missions to work and run his business.

Hinting At The End

Early in the book, Yossarian introduces the reader to a time when he encountered death. Snowden, a gunner who flew in Yossarians plane, is killed over Avignon and dies in Yossarian's arms. Although they haven't connected it to Yossarian's fear of death yet, I believe they are directly related. Since its first mention, Snowden's death has been mentioned several other times, with each mention going into more detail (almost reminding me of the movie I.Robot). This repeated telling of the story seems to hinting at the trauma the experience caused Yossarian. Also, I think the story may be the author foreshadowing a possible ending to the book. Even though he seems to only be concerned with his own life, the story of Snowden shows that he does actually care for his fellow soldiers. In the end, I think Yossarian is going to have to overcome his fear of death to help out keep others out of danger.

You Can't Avoid Death

"As far back as Yossarian could recall, he explained to Clevinger with a patient smile, somebody was always hatching a plot to kill him. There were people who cared for him and people who didn't, and those who didn't hated him and were out to get him. They hated him because he was Assyrian. but they couldn't touch him, he told Clevinger, because he had a sound mind in a pure body and was as strong as an ox."

At this point in the book, I really began to question whether Yossarian is actually insane or not. Also, I think this seems like a bit of comic relief and is also ironic. A man who volunteered to fight in a war is paranoid about death. This quote is also important because it introduces another major theme within the book, which is that death is unavoidable. Throughout the book, Yossarian does not seem to care about the war at all, but rather only about trying to save his own life. At one point, he says he doesn't even care if they hit their target and completed their mission, as long as he makes it back alive. I think this is setting up the ending of the book and I feel like Yossarian will have to make a life and death decision before the book is over.

A Senseless Stream

Much of Catch-22 is written in the narrative form of stream of consciousness. By doing this, the author portrays Yossarian's point of view by writing the story in the form of his thought process. His topics of thought are constantly changing to whatever he thinks, which leaves me sometimes a little confused on where he is going with the points. Also, by writing in the narrative form of stream of consciousness, the author seems to have Yossarian begin stories several times, only to leave them without an end. To me, this is frustrating and leaves me wondering why the author would spend several pages talking about an intricate story, only to leave the readers disappointed when there turns out to be no point to them at all. One example of this that I have encountered so far is when Yossarian repeatedly mentions his friend Dunbar getting hit in the head by a prostitute. After describing the story for almost a full chapter, he ends it by simply saying that he doesn't know why it happened. Yossarian has since mentioned it several times, but still does not know why it happened. There is absolutely no point to the short story and I feel like it is simply an attempt to fill up the book.

An Evil Empire

"Clevinger recoiled from their hatred as though from a blinding light. These three men who hated him spoke his language and wore his uniform, but he saw their loveless faces set immutable into cramped, mean lines of hostility and understood instantly that nowhere in the world, not in all he fascist tanks or planes or submarines, not in the bunkers behind the machine guns or mortars or behind the blowing flam throwers, not even among all the expert gunners of the crach Hermann Goering Antiaircraft Division or among the grisly connivers in all the beer halls in Munich and everywhere else, were there men who hated him more" (Page 81).

Although Clevinger is fighting on the same side as his superiors, it is evident that they are looking to punish him by accusing him of anything they can get a hold of. This passage is ironic because in it, Clevinger realizes that his superiors hate him more than the enemy. The enemy is simply doing their duty by trying to kill Clevinger, whereas his superiors are seeking to punish him out of dislike. Also in this passage, the reader is introduced to an early theme of the book: the power of bureaucracy. The bureaucracy of superiors has no reason to accuse Clevinger of any crime, yet they did in hopes that by interrogating him, he would admit to doing some wrong. In addition to this, another example of the misuse of power by the bureaucracy occurs when Yossarian finds out that they required number of flights to be sent home is only 40. Even though Yossarian has 48 flights, the bureaucracy simply adds on to Catch-22 and says that he cannot be relieved of duty because his commanding officer wants 50 flights. The willingness to send men on pointless, yet dangerous, missions shows how truly powerful and corrupt the bureaucracy is.

So That's What The Title Means...

""Sure there's a catch," Doc Daneeka replied. "Catch-22. Anyone who wants to get out of combat duty isn't really crazy."
There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle."


In the above passage, the reader is introduced to the clause of Catch-22 and it's importance within the novel. The paradox that is Catch-22 serves to put those who are fighting in the war in a bind. It does not allow them any way of being relieved of duty due to insanity, although so far many characters, including Yossarian, seem to be mentally unstable. Although the paradoxical Catch-22 seems to be infallible, I think it is unfair to put soldier's lives in risk based on words. Throughout chapters that follow, Catch-22 is expanded to apply to several other situations with the intention of trapping soldiers. At the point I am currently at in the reading, Yossarian has begin to question the quality of words and their ability to relate to actual circumstances. He begins to realize words are not always able to relate to the exact situation the soldiers are in.