Which 1961 novel by Joseph Heller was banned in some schools for its language and anti-war themes? The answer is Catch-22.
Published on October 10, 1961, Catch-22 was Joseph Heller’s debut novel and a landmark of modern war satire. It follows Captain John Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Forces bombardier stationed in the Mediterranean during World War II, as he tries to survive an ever-changing quota of combat missions.
The title refers to a fictional military rule: a pilot who asks to be grounded for being insane demonstrates the rational concern of a sane person and therefore must keep flying. The circular regulation makes escape impossible, exposing the absurdity of bureaucracy. Heller’s anti-war and anti-government perspective was influenced especially by the Korean War and the political climate of the 1950s, even though the story is set during World War II.
A common mix-up is treating “Catch-22” as only a phrase for a dilemma. It became a standard expression because of the novel, whose 1972 removal from a school district’s libraries and curriculum helped establish its place in banned-book discussions.