Catch-22, Joseph Heller Reading Guide AP Literature: Buckley

Themes: capitalism v. socialism; sanity; war; fear v. courage; friendship; freedom; death; women v. men

Core Questions—be able to provide collegiate answers:

·  Purposes of military bases?

·  What does this book teach us about war and the effects of war?

·  What can we learn about America and Italy in WW2 from this book?

·  What can we learn about governance from this book?

·  How does an author write satire?

Annotation Requirements:

Level 1:

·  Analyze the satirical and comedic elements throughout the book. Pause and write down what Heller is mocking and WHY.

·  Annotate based on your possible essay topic—flag and analyze text that will help you to write your essay.

Level 2:

·  Analyze the satirical and comedic elements throughout the book. Pause and write down what Heller is mocking and WHY.

·  Annotate based on your possible essay topic—flag and analyze text that will help you to write your essay.

·  At the end of the chapters, bullet point the purposes of that particular chapter. Make sure your bullet points have the “so what?”

Level 3:

·  Analyze the satirical and comedic elements throughout the book. Pause and write down what Heller is mocking and WHY.

·  Annotate based on your possible essay topic—flag and analyze text that will help you to write your essay.

·  At the end of the chapters, bullet point the purposes of that particular chapter. Make sure your bullet points have the “so what?”

·  Within the text, choose one quote and provide analytic commentary next to the quote.

Catch-22 Essay Topics: Prepare to share your essay with your peers who have also read the book so that you may learn from each other and teach each other.

1.  Catch-22 is a satire; analyze what Heller is satirizing, how and why. Analyze the entire book in your essay.

2.  Analyze Heller’s message regarding war and the ramifications of war from all different levels (physical, emotional, etc.). Analyze the entire book in your essay.

3.  Watch the movie Catch-22 and analyze the director’s choices compared to the book. Analyze why the director chooses to omit certain aspects of the book and change other aspects. Weave these analyses with what you believe is the main interpretation of the movie compared to your interpretation of the book.

4.  Use any of the literary criticism theories to create an insightful, argumentative thesis that analyzes the entire book.