Interpretation of Yossarian’s Ethical Choices in Catch-22 from the Perspective of Literary Ethics

Abstract

Catch 22 is a novel by American writer Joseph Heller. This work is full of black humor, satirizing bureaucracy and social reality, and exposing the dark side of indifference to life, money supremacy, and rampant bureaucracy. Catch 22 is a paradox: a pilot can only stop performing a flight mission if he is crazy. At the same time, the pilot himself can only apply for approval. Once the pilot can apply for it himself, it means that he is not crazy, which means that he cannot be approved. The research on Catch 22 has affirmed its literary value, but there are few studies on it from the perspective of literary ethics. Based on literary ethics, this paper analyzes the ethical identity transformation of the protagonist Yossarian from an officer to a rebel, discusses the ethical choices he made and the reasons for his choices, and explores the reference significance and ethical teachings that this work can give to modern people to solve ethical problems. Through the analysis of Yossarian’s choices, this paper focuses on the choices and rebellious spirit of the protagonist Yossarian under the different identities.