Black Humor and Negation in Catch-22

Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22 is satirical masterpiece that has been enjoyed by readers for decades. It was the first novel to transform World War II from a human tragedy into an absurdist comedy and proved that nothing is sacrosanct in literature. The novel uses satire and dark humor and a non-traditional structure to keep the reader off-balance just long enough for Heller to unleash his more serious themes. War must be the ultimate absurdity of human existence. How else to explain engaging in violence repeatedly and consistently throughout millennia in attempt to impose peace? Catch-22 was one of the first novels to portray the seriousness of war as a comedy, albeit a comedy of extraordinary darkness.