Catch-22

Origin
Joseph Heller's Catch-22 is a satirical novel by American author Joseph Heller. It uses a distinctive non-chronological third-person omniscient narration, describing events from the points of difference characters. The separate storylines are out of sequence so the timeline develops along with the plot. The novel is set during WW2 and mainly follows the life of Captain John Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Forces B-25 bombardier. The events in the book occur while the fictional 256th Squadron which is based on the island of Pianosa, in the Mediterranean Sea, west of Italy. The novel looks into the experiences of Yossarian and the other airmen in the camp, who attempt to maintain their sanity during the war so they may return home.

The novel's title refers to a plot device that is repeatedly tested in the story. Catch-22 starts as a set of paradoxical requirements whereby airmen mentally unable to fly didn't have to but couldn't be excused from duty. By the end it is invoked as the explanation for many restrictions. According to the novel, people where were crazy weren't obligated to fly missions, but anyone who applied to stop flying was showing a rational concern for his safety and was, therefore, sane enough and had to fly.

Effects
Reading the novel places a person in a Catch-22 situation where they must either hurt themselves or hurt someone else to escape, a no-win situation.