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Insanity of War EssayJoseph the Tempter and Kurt Vonnegut were two of the most influential anti-war authors of the twentieth century. haler and Vonnegut served in Second World War Heller flew lux missions as a bombardier and Vonnegut was awarded the Purple Heart as an infantry scout. by means ofout the Vietnam War, these two authors were worship for the heroic anti-war masterpieces that they wrote. College students by dint ofout the country carried the novels Heller and Vonnegut wrote everywhere they went. Heller first published his book in 1961, right in the midst of Civil Rights Movement, a perfect time for a book that ch each(prenominal)enges the power of bureaucracy. Vonnegut published his novel eight years later in 1969, during the Vietnam War, a controversial period for American citizens. One student was quoted saying, Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller were part of a vanguard of writers my fri demises and I idolized (Golly). Through the drug abuse of colonial structur es, highly effective literary styles, and use portrayal, Heller and Vonnegut helped to reveal the insanity of war.Heller and Vonnegut both use a complex structure when writing their satirical anti-war novels. When writing Catch-22, Heller flavorionally created a report that is hard to bind. While Heller admits that Catch-22 was meticulously structured in order to seem disorderly, he disagrees with the readers that claim Catch-22 is formless (Merrill 34). Merrill also claims that Heller says the legitimate structure is artfully camouflaged (34). He speaks the ideas of multiple characters and tells the figment in an unconventional manner. While the majority of the novel is indite from the ideas, actions, and feelings of John Yossarian, the protagonist, Heller uses other characters to tell the story from a different perspective.An example of this comes in Chapter 6, aptly named Hungry Joe, where Heller writes the ideas and feelings of Hungry Joe (Heller 51). Another comes in th e twentieth chapter, where the narrative comes from collective Whitcomb (Heller 198). Heller also uses an unorthodox chronology while writing Catch-22. Multiple times during the text Heller makes obvious jumps in time, be it forward or back. Heller uses the number of missions to help the reader follow the chronology of this in fair structure. On the twenty-first page, Doc Daneeka declares that the col anel want fifty missions (Heller). He then declares that the Twenty-seventh Air reap only requires forty missions and later on the same page they are required fifty-five missions (Heller 58).Vonnegut also uses a complex structure when writing his book, Slaughterhouse-five, only when rather than switching from character to character, he changes between bypast, present, future. Vonnegut uses a chronological scheme that is difficult to follow as well he actually starts the narrative during the second chapter. He starts the novel, on page twenty-three, by talking about the past and te lls us that the protagonist, Billy Pilgrim, was born in 1922 (Vonnegut). Seven pages later, he jumps to 1944 describing his fleck of assistant chaplain and his first time being unstuck in time (Vonnegut 30). Then, during the fifth chapter, starting on page eighty-eight, he talks about the past again. When he was twelve years old, he went on vacation to the Grand Canyon that he hated (Vonnegut). In addition to using a complex structure, Vonnegut uses the phrase So it goes over one degree Celsius times (Slaughterhouse-Five).These writing structures both work to expose the insanity of war. Heller creates a chaotic nimbus by writing through numerous characters and through a chronology that is anything but in a logical order. While Vonnegut employs the death of over a carbon people at bottom Slaughterhouse-Five and uses an intensely paced, chronological mess (Vonnegut). They both write chapters and paragraphs that follow the same disorganized style. With the structures that Heller a nd Vonnegut use, they both create a chaotic atmosphere for their readers, similar to that of war. They attempt to place the readers in a situation that makes them feel similar to the authors, when they were in the military.Heller and Vonneguts literary style is to create emphasis in the mind of the reader by shifting the narrative around from character to character and to and from different time periods. They do this in order to quite a little the readers closer to the soldiers and bombardiers of the Second World War. By doing so, they cause the readers to begin to wonder what will be happening next in the story much ilk the way the soldiers of Catch-22 do on the fictional island of Pianosa and the Slaughterhouse-Five soldiers in the German city of Dresden (Heller, Vonnegut).The overall pace of Catch-22 is slow Heller is very descriptive and builds the setting and atmosphere. thither is, however, parts of Catch-22 that are intense and fast paced. Heller uses this slow pace to bui ld tension before the novel climaxes. Catch-22 becomes faster as it approaches the climax and the end of the novel. This change of pace ties directly to war at first everything is slow, then suddenly, the characters are in the middle of a firefight or bombing mission, then it pronto ceases.Slaughterhouse-Five uses a slightly faster pace throughout the novel Vonneguts narrative is much shorter and does not go into as much depth as Hellers story does. However, this is the same feeling that many soldiers of the Second World War felt. The soldiers and bombardiers do not always know what is happening next or, in regard to the topical Iraqi war, which is the enemy and which is not.Heller employs another literary device, called a motif, a recurring theme or device in literature, and in the novel written by Heller, the motif was catch-22. Heller incorporates many forms of the catch-22 throughout the novel. The main catch follows when Yossarian must continue transient missions. Obviously anyone willing to risk their lives by flying these missions is crazy. The only way to be granted permission to stop flying the missions is to ask the commanding officer, but he cannot grant permission to be grounded unless it is asked of him.However, anyone sane enough to ask a commanding officer to be grounded is clearly not insane because they have regard for their lives. Therefore, they must continue flying missions. In short, any circular argument that always works in favor of the bureaucratic form that puts it in place is a catch-22. These circular arguments trap soldiers within the chaos of war they have no way to escape it because of the system that placed it. There is several other catch-22s in the novel Catch-22, such as the open and close case against Clevenger in which all they need is something to charge him with and how they can only meet up with study study Major Major in his office when he is not in his office.Vonnegut also employs the literary device motif, withi n his novel. He uses the phrase So it goes over one hundred times in Slaughterhouse-Five (Slaughterhouse-Five). He first uses the phrase So it goes when talking about Gerhard Mullers, a cab driver, mother, who was incinerated in the Dresden fire-storm (Vonnegut 2). During chapter nine, Vonnegut writes about how Billys wife, Valencia, dies of carbon monoxide poisoning aft(prenominal) an accident she caused while driving to the hospital Billy was taken to after a plane accident he was involved in (Vonnegut).In the precedent situation, Vonnegut ended to text with So it goes, this shows how the insanity of war causes death to mean so little to some people. The culture use is on the second to last page, two hundred fourteen he uses it after the death of Edgar Derby, an old, poor English teacher, who was arrested, tried, and shot for stealing a teapot (Vonnegut). Vonnegut uses the phrase So it goes to equalize all death. Through equalizing all death, Vonnegut brings forward how some bu reaucratic systems feel about war and their effects on life. Vonnegut writes to point out the insanity of war he shows his readers what war can cause and how his characters and their lives are affected.Hellers characters display insanity throughout Catch-22. An example of this occurs on page seventy-five, when the following conversation takes placeIn sixty days youll be fighting Billy Petrolle, the colonel with the big fat mustache roared. And you think its a big fat joke.I dont think its a joke, sir, Clevenger replied.Dont pauseYes, sirAnd say sir when you do, ordered Major Metcalf.Yes, sir.Werent you just ordered not to interrupt? Major Metcalf inquired coldly.But I didnt interrupt, sir, Clevenger protested.No, and you didnt say sir, either. Add that to the charges against him, Major Metcalf directed the corporal who could take shorthand, Failure to say sir to superior officers when not interrupting them. (Heller)This conversation shows just how crazy some of Hellers characters are. Through his dialogue, Heller shows the insanity of his characters and the absurdity of war. Conversations similar to this occur a dozens of times throughout Catch-22. Another example of Heller portraying insanity occurs when the IBM machine in control of the military ranking system gains a sense of humor. After only four days of enlistment, Private Major Major Major, one of Hellers more awkward characters, becomes Major Major Major Major (Heller). This mistake portrays another chaotic situation that war created. The bureaucratic system causes confusion and people lose control of their responsibilities.The actions of war depicted in Vonneguts Slaughterhouse-five, caused a large amount of death. The center of the book, the German city of Dresden, is approximated to have had at least thirty-five thousand and some sources say up to one hundred thousand casualties in the infamous firebombing of Dresden during the Second World War (Bombing of Dresden). A few characters from Slaughter house-five share the same insanity of those from Catch-22, such as Roland Weary, who is intent on glorifying himself and uses the fact that he saved Billy multiple times to do it (Vonnegut). Although the characters from Slaughterhouse-five dont carry on crazy dialogues, they still portray madness through their actions, like when Wild Bob inquires if Billy is part of the regiment that he is colonel of, even though all his men are dead (Vonnegut).Heller and Vonnegut use their characters in a way that proves that war does really take a toll of a persons mental situation. Through their motifs, Catch-22 and So it goes, Heller and Vonnegut show that bureaucratic systems and death do not mix well. Systems like this shouldnt have control over such a life altering things, especially since they carry the lieu So it goes throughout the war. It really is insane for a system to be in place in which someone has absolute control over anothers life.And the powerfulness of these people to have a S o it goes attitude is as pure madness. The structure in Slaughterhouse-five and Catch-22 are very similar in that the both follow a chronology that is nowhere near in order. This is significant because it puts the reader into the insanity of war. The have the same confusion that soldier does until they realize what is really going on. Through the use of characters, motifs, and confusing chronologies these brilliant antiwar authors capture the insanity of war.