Unit 25 Joseph Heller Catch（课堂PPT）

1、.1 Contemporary Literature 美国当代文学（美国当代文学（1945）.2Background1) Nazi butcher; the use of atomic bomb; people s panic 2) Cold War; McCarthyism ; mutual fear and hostility3) The Korean War and the Vietnam War .34) The Assassination of Kennedy and of Martin Luther king ;The American Civil Rights Movement,

2、 Feminism; anti-war movement; the Water-Gate scandal5) American Dream” disillusion6) Increasing population; environmental pollutionBackground.4The impact The impact on the American society is emotional People start to question the role of science and the fear of the modern science and technology is

3、spreading They no longer believe in God but start to reconsider the nature of man and mans evil They begin to think of life as a big joke. .5Style (1)The Beat Generation(垮掉的一垮掉的一代）代） 1950s (2) The Black Humor（黑色幽默）（黑色幽默） 1960s (3) Theatre of the Absurd（荒诞（荒诞派戏剧）派戏剧） .6 (4) The pluralism of postwar A

4、merican fiction a. War fiction (战争文学）战争文学） b. Southern literature （南方文学）（南方文学） c. Jewish literature （犹太人文学）（犹太人文学） d. Black fiction（黑人文学）（黑人文学） e. Non-fiction novel （非虚构小说）（非虚构小说） f. Literature of ethnic（种族）（种族）groups.7 （5） poetry Features : inspiration in the past; political and social issues; no p

5、rescribed（规定的）（规定的） form; more political Schools : Confessional Poets自白派自白派 Black Mountain Poets黑山派黑山派 Beat Generation The New York School纽约派纽约派.8Joseph Heller (1923-1999)an American satirical novelist, short story writer and playwright. He wrote the influential novel Catch-22第22条军规about American se

6、rvicemen during World War II.Catch-22 is .9Life story (1)Joseph Heller was born in Brooklyn in 1923.He served as an Air Force bombardier(投弹投弹手）手） in World War II and enjoyed a long career as a writer and a teacher. His best-selling books include Something Happened, Good as Gold, Picture This, God Kn

7、ows, and Closing Time, but his first novel, , remains his most famous and acclaimed work. He died of a heart attack in December 1999.10 Life story (2)The title of this work (Catch-22)entered the English lexicon to refer to absurd, no-win choices, particularly in situations in which the desired outco

8、me of the choice is an impossibility, and regardless of choice, the same negative outcome is a certainty /any illogical or paradoxical problem or situation (指陷入矛盾的规定或环境的令人沮丧的情况）指陷入矛盾的规定或环境的令人沮丧的情况）is widely regarded as one of the best post-World War II satirists. .11 Anti-war Black humor Serious Abs

9、urd （荒诞） “People go to fight wars because they dont understand the seriousness of what theyre doing. Joseph Heller.12Thematic Concern Institutionalized Absurdity of the Society Vs. Integrity of the Individual Anti-hero(反英雄） .13.14Catch-22第二十二条军规One of the most influential book in modern literature .

10、Huge impact on popular culture and literary circlesIt introduced the post war world to the concept of Black Humor(黑色幽默）, also This book also gives us the first true .15Black Humor （黑色幽默） It is a term applied to a large group of American novels beginning in the 1950s. Although the writers of black hu

11、mor did not intentionally form a school or literary movement, there is in their novels a common core of which is directed against hypocrisy, materialism, racial prejudice, and above all, the dehumanization of individual by a modern society. .16Black Humor （黑色幽默） In their opinion, the society is full

12、 of institutionalized absurdity. Therefore, all of them hold a cynical（愤世嫉俗的） attitude toward society and the conventional moral values which support that society. This despondency （失望）is reflected in their novels, not by angry protest, but by the use of exaggeration as a vehicle for . The satire is

13、 based on the exposition and exaggeration of the abnormal and the seamy side(阴暗面） of both people and society to the point of ridiculousness and absurdity. It is humor out of despair and laughter out of tears. .17Black Humor黑色幽默 In literature, drama, and film, grotesque or morbid （病态的） humor used to

14、express the absurdity（荒谬）, insensitivity, paradox(悖论）, and cruelty of the modern world. Ordinary characters or situations are usually exaggerated far beyond the limits of normal satire or irony. Black humor uses devices often associated with tragedy and is sometimes equated with tragic farce（闹剧）. .1

15、8Black Humor黑色幽默 A kind of humor in which disturbing（令人不安的） or sinister （灾难性的）subjects such as death, disease, or warfare, are treated with bitter amusement, usually in a manner calculated to offend and shock. It is strongly evident in modern American fiction from Nathanael Wests A Cool Million (193

16、4) to Joseph Hellers Catch-22 (1961) and Kurt Vonneguts Slaughterhouse-Five (1969).19A central character in a dramatic or narrative work who lacks the quality of nobility and magnanimity（宽宏大量） expected of traditional heroes and heroines in romances and epics. Unheroic (不英勇的）characters of this kind h

17、ave been an important feature of the Western novel, which has subjected heroism to parody since Cervantess Don Quixote (1605). Flauberts Emma Bovary (in Madame Bovary, 1857) and Joyces Leopold Bloom (in Ulysses, 1922) are outstanding examples of this antiheroic ordinariness and inadequacy.20 The ant

18、i-hero is also an important figure in modern drama, both in the theatre of the absurd and in the tragedies of Arthur Miller, notably Death of a Salesman (1949). In these days, as in many modern novels, the protagonist is an ineffectual failure who succumbs to（屈服于） the pressure of circumstances. The

19、anti-hero should not be confused with the antagonist or the villain.21Catch-22-plotn It is about the story of Captain Joseph Yossarian（尤索林）（尤索林） and his attempt to avoid serving in World War II by feigning（假装） insanity（精神错乱）. However, Yossarian is thwarted（反对，阻碍） by the doctors argument that if he w

20、ere truly mad then he would endanger his life and seek to fight more missions.n On the other hand, if he were sane （健全）, then he would be capable to following orders to fight more missions. Thus the phrase catch-22 came to mean a proviso（限制性条款） that trips one up（绊倒, 使失败, 挑剔） no matter which way one

21、turns.22Catch-22n “There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for ones own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind.n Orr was crazy and could be grounded(停飞）. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he

22、would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions.n Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didnt, but if he was sane he had to fly them. nIf he flew them he was crazy and didnt have to; but if he didnt want to he was sane and had to. .23第二十二条军规n疯子才能获准免于飞行，但必须由本人提出申请； 同时又规定

23、，凡能意识到飞行有危险而提出免飞申请的，属于头脑清醒着，应继续执行飞行任务。因为如果一个人真的神志不清，他会主动执行飞行任务，因此便没有人能获准免于飞行。n第二十二条军规还规定，飞行员飞满上级规定的次数就能回国，但它又说，你必须绝对服从命令，要不就不准回国。因此上级可以不断给飞行员增加飞行次数，而你不得违抗。如此反复，永无休止。.24Catch-22-CharactersYossarianColonel Cathcart Milo Minderbinder OrrChaplain A. T. Tappman DunbarNatelySnowden.25YossarianThe protagon

24、ist and hero of the novel. Yossarian is a captain in the Air Force and a lead bombardier（投弹手） in his squadron（空军中队）, but he hates the war. His powerful desire to live has led him to the conclusion that millions of people are trying to kill him, and he has decided either to live forever or, ironicall

25、y, die trying. .26He avoids flying combat missions by all means possible: by moving the bomb line on the map of Italy preceding the Bologna mission, by poisoning the squadrons（空军中队） potatoes, by dismantling（拆除） his intercom（对讲机） and ordering his plane to turn back, and by feigning （假装）a liver condit

26、ion to pass the time safely in the hospital. Yossarian.27Colonel CathcartThe ambitious, unintelligent officer in charge of Yossarians squadron. Colonel Cathcart wants to be a general, and he tries to impress his superiors by bravely volunteering his men for dangerous combat duty whenever he gets the

27、 chance. As he tries to scheme his way ahead, he considers successful actions “feathers in his cap”（功绩） and unsuccessful ones “black eyes.” （失败）.28Milo MinderbinderA fantastically（难以置信的） powerful mess（食堂） officer, Milo controls an international black-market syndicate（辛迪加 /财团） and is revered in obscu

28、re corners all over the world. He ruthlessly（无情地） chases after profit and bombs his own men as part of a contract with Germany. Milo insists that everyone in the squadron will benefit from being part of the syndicate and that “everyone has a share.” He also takes his job as mess officer very, very s

29、eriously; as a result, the troops in Yossarians division eat better than any others. .29OrrYossarians often-maddening roommate. Orr is a gifted fix-it（故障检修员） man who is always constructing little improvements to the tent that he shares with Yossarian. He almost always crashes his plane or is shot down on combat missions, but he always manages to survive. He asks Yossarian to fly with him, but Yossarian refuses. Everyone things Orr is simple-minded because he stuffs his fat cheeks with apples. His pretend ignorance is actually a cover and the frequent c