An Analysis of “Snowden’s Death” in Catch—22

沈瑩瑩

Repetition is an important narrative technique Heller employs in Catch-22， with so many words， characters and events recurring through the whole novel. The repetition of Snowdens death is particularly prominent with the frequency of eight—five direct description in Chapter 5， 17， 22， 30， 41 and three indirect narration in Chapter 4， 21 and 24.

Aiming to explore purposes of the narration of Snowdens death， this paper mainly covers two parts： How Heller develops the narration of Snowdens death and why he arranges so.

1. The Narration of Snowdens Death in Catch-22

1.1 Repetition

From a general perspective， the repetition of the scene of Snowdens death is scattered casually in the whole novel. From the level of words and sentences， there also exist many repetitions. Theconversation is a typical one— “Help him” （Dobbs seeking for aid） appears 14 times； “I cold” （Snowdens pleading for help） appears 25 times； “There， there” （Yossarians comforting words） appears 17 times.

1.2 Suspense

Suspense is closely entwined with repetition. Snowdens death like an enigma hover the whole novel， but it is only in the second-to-last chapter that readers are finally allowed to see the scene from beginning to end.

Snowdens death scene is first mentioned in Chapter 4. Yossarian asks a question in an educational session： “Where are the Snowdens of yesteryear？” （P. 35）In the following narration， the only thing revealed about the Snowdens is that “Snowden had been killed over Avigon.” （P. 36）

Then in Chapter 5， the readers indirectly see Snowden “die” for the first time： “Snowden lay dying in back.”（P. 52） Later Chapter 17 displays a short dialogue between Snowden and Yossarian in the same scene as that in Chapter 5. With the plots pushing forward， in Chapter 22， the enigmatic references to Snowdens death are finally cleared up：Snowden is killed when Dobbs goes crazy and seizes the planes controls from Huple.

Finally， Chapter 41 brings us the panoramic view of Snowdens death： How Snowden is wounded and how Yossarian tries to save his life.

1.3 Contrast

In the narration of Snowdens death， there exist some contrasts.

“There was none of that crude， ugly ostentation about dying that was so common outside the hospital. They did not blow up in mid-air like Kraft or the dead man in Yossarians tent， or freeze to death in the blazing summertime the way Snowden had frozen to death after spilling his secret to Yossarian in the back of the plane.” （Chapter 17） Here Yossarian compares the death inside the hospital with that outside it.

“…or freeze to death in the blazing summertime…” （Chapter 17） “…where Snowden lay on the floor wounded and freezing to death in a yellow splash of sunlight…” （Chapter 22） “…a vaguely familiar kid who was badly wounded and freezing to death in the puddle of harsh yellow sunlight splashing into his face through the side gun port…” （Chapter 41） The contrast of Snowdens “freezing to death” and the “sunlight in summer” appears three times in the narration.

2. Functions of the Narration of Snowdens Death

Firstly， the function of repetition—Snowdens death occurs in a circular way. The event that has so traumatized Yossarian does not vanish into the past as Yossarian moves through time， unable to escape. As for the readers， they are tossed into a sea full of uncertainty， absurdity and desolation with no way out. Heller wants to conveyto readers that people in the war are insane， confused and finally they lose themselves regardless of the past and future.

As for the repetition of conversation， it implies the impotence of language. As Snowden dies in the back of the plane groaning “I cold”， all that Yossarian can think of to say is “there， there”， over and over again. Faced with the realities of death and the absurdity of its circumstances， language seems unable to communicate any sort of reassurance.

Then the function of suspense—The constant references to Snowdens death build up suspense， making the Avignon mission aclimax of the novel.The intense curiosity scan evoke readers deeper ponder in absurdity， dehumanization of the warand impersonal bureaucracywhen the mystery of Snowdens death is coded.

Lastly， the contrasts also reinforce the absurdity of the war and cruelty of death. Yossarians ridiculous experience goes so far as to regard the hospital as a place where death can be confronted and properly mourned. In contrast， the death outside the hospital is so barbarian and brutal. The contrast of Snowdens “freezing to death” with “sunlight”implies a strong sense of irony： Snowdens death is quite absurd but inevitable. The lives and deaths of the men in Yossarians squadron are not governed by their own decisions but by the shallow and absurd bureaucrats. Snowden is just one of the sacrifices of the war and bureaucracy.

3. Conclusion

Heller utilizes repetition， suspense and contrasts to narrate Snowdens death， revealing mans powerlessness in the presence of death， cruelty of war， and impersonal bureaucracy.

The repetition of Snowdens death breaks the chronological order and forms a circular sense： people in the war are powerless to escape from that insane and absurd world. The suspense holds the readers interest， forms a climax of the whole novel and evokes readers contemplation. The contrastsreinforce the cruelty of death and the absurdityanddehumanization of the war and bureaucracy.

Reference：

[1]Joseph Heller Catch， -22， New York， Dell Publishing Co.， Inc.， 1955.