Friday, March 21, 2014

Survey Response

As of right now, our survey has had 4 responses. Our survey is about the histories of war and opinions about war. Most people were correct about the war history questions. Most people said if threatened you can kill another person. No one thought it was right to kill just because they can.

War Survey

War Survey

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Milo Minderbender

Discuss Milo's control over different parts of the world.
Milo helped influence many parts of the world, by starting a buisness and bringing his buisness to them. Milo started out as an egg and fruit salesman who served his fellow soldiers. Milo turned into a buisness tyrant around the world who even saved the economy of a place in Africa. He not only sold food and resources, Milo betrayed his friends and sold secrets to both the germans and the americans. Milo betrayed his friends by telling them to fly, even though he just told the germans to shoot them down. "Milo was not only the Vice-Shah or Oran, as it turned out, but also the Caliph of Baghdad, the Imam of Damascus, and the Sheik of Araby. Milo was the corn god, the rain god and the rice god in backward regions where such crude gods were still worshipped by ignorant and superstitious people, and deep inside the jungles of Africa, he intimated with becoming modesty, large graven images of his mustached face could be found overlooking primitive stone altars red with human blood. Everywhere they touched he was acclaimed with honor, and it was one triumphal ovation after another for him in city after city" (1422). Milo gained so much power, people in Africa were even sacrificing themselves for him. Milo used the war to his advantage, and succeeded in doing what he wanted. He was able to trick everyone he knew for his gain. Milo's last name was Minderbender, which is probably a play on words for mindbender.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Major Major

Discuss the Major Major Major Major's traumatizing childhood, and how it leads to who he is now.

Major Major Major Major is the way he is, because of his childhood. Major Major is a member of Yossarian's unit on Pianosa. He is the rank Major and his first, middle, and last name are Major. This is because of his father's sick sense of humor when Major was named and an error from an IBM machine that caused his rank to be so high. Major's name has caused him many problems in the military and in life. The narrator describes him as a very unimpressive, mediocre guy. “Major Major had been born too late and too mediocre. Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them. With Major Major it had been all three. Even among men lacking all distinction he inevitably stood out as a man lacking more distinction than all the rest, and people who met him were always impressed by how unimpressive he was” (475). Major Major lived a life of mediocrity and blandness. Throughout his whole life he has been questioned and judged. Major was only once close to making friends in his time in the army, and this was ruined when he was promoted to squad commander. Imagine of Major Major's name had been anything but what it is now. He wouldn't have been immediately promoted to major or have lived a socially awkward life. A life that can only lead to mediocrity caused by a father's joke. )

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Yossarian's Behavior

Analyze Yossarian's behavior.


Yossarian's behavior is outrageous, because he (and everyone else in the camp) is insane or is trying to act insane. Yossarian is a pilot, who doesn't care about completing the mission or the safety of others. Yossarian only cares about staying alive, because he believes someone is always trying to kill him. In a way, Yossarian is correct because he is in a war. Yossarian and the others are always trying to out crazy each other. In many parts in the book, Yossarian and Clevinger argue about whether they are insane or not, when in reality are just contributing to the fact that they are both insane. According to this quote from Catch-22, there is a logical reason for why everyone in the camp is so 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" (247). This Catch in the military's rule code  basically says that insane people must fly, because if they ask to be grounded (kept from flying) they must be sane. This is because asking to be grounded is a rational decision, meaning that you must be able to think rationally. On top of this to get out of the war you have to fly a specific amount of missions, but everytime someone gets close to completing their missions, the amount of missions is raised. This makes it impossible to keep from flying, unless you are sick or injured. How can you keep from going crazy when you get put involuntarily into the military, and you don't even have an option to go back home?