Milo Minderbinder is one of the most extraordinary creations in American literature, and maybe one of the most prescient. In our prior reading, we saw how he manipulates the black market and achieves remarkable levels of power in various locales, from being the mayor of Palermo to the Caliph of Baghdad. In this reading we see how far Milo’s syndicate reaches, and how powerful it is. What is Heller satirizing through Milo’s character?
Nately — the name suggests natal, meaning related to birth — is an innocent, and like virtually all good satirists, Heller isn’t a big fan of innocence. Consider the scenes with Nately and either his whore or the old Italian man (or both). How does Heller use Nately to attack what are conventionally thought of as virtues?
Catch-22 employs quite a lot of sexual comedy. Is that part of the satire? If so, what is Heller satirizing? Or is this a way of mixing the satire with farce, which is light-hearted comedy involving buffoonery and ridiculous situations?
Pick any other passage in these chapters you wish and analyze the satire in it. What is Heller’s real target? How does he use the techniques we have discussed (namely exaggeration and ironic non sequitur) to point out the absurdity of the situation or mindsets he is attacking?