Out of Absurdity On the Ending of Catch-22  

作　　者：YE La-mei 

机构地区：[1]Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China

出　　处：《Journal of Literature and Art Studies》2014年第6期423-435,共13页文学与艺术研究（英文版）

摘　　要：As one of the first and most original creations of literary postmodernism, published in the year 1961, Catch-22＇s （1961） position in American literature remains secure. Yet its ending has been held as unconvincing ever since its publication. Taking the overall structure, tone, and the theme of the novel into consideration, this paper aims to prove the credibility of this controversial part. It consists of five sections apart from an introduction and a conclusion. Section One provides general information on the life and works of Joseph Heller. Section Two traces the impact of existentialism and the generation of black humor to clarify the literary position of Catch-22. Section Three brings out the disputative opinions on the ending part. Sections Four and Five, try to prove Yossarian＇s final desertion a natural and convincing ending from different perspectives： Section Four analyses how Yossarian gains an entropic vision of the cosmos; section Five studies his existential vision of physical life and searches for the immediate factors that propel Yossarian＇s desertion. Section five also explains the ending＇s change in tone and structure. The conclusion summarizes the paper and points out the social significance of the novel.

关 键 词：ABSURDITY CATCH-22 the ending 

分 类 号：S932.4[农业科学—渔业资源] I206.7[农业科学—水产科学]