Read the passage 'Catch 22'. On a piece of paper, take notes on the main points of the reading passage.
Reading time: 3 minutes
Catch 22
Joseph Heller's Catch-22 (1961) is one of the most acclaimed novels of the twentieth century. It is a black comedy about life in the military during World War ll. It features bombardier John Yossarian, who is trying to survive the military's inexhaustible supply of bureaucracy and who is frantically trying to do anything to avoid killing and being killed. Heller was able to use his own experiences in the Air Force during World War Il to create this character and the novel.
Even though Catch-22 eventually became known as a great novel, it was not originally considered one. When it was first published in 1961, the reviews were tepid and the sales were lackluster. It was not well received at this point at least in part because it presented such a cowardly protagonist at a time when World War Il veterans were being lauded for their selfless courage.
Within a few years of the release of the book, as an unpopular war in Southeast Asia was heating up, Heller's Catch-22 found a new audience eager to enjoy the exploits of Heller's waraverse protagonist. It was within the framework of this era that Catch-22 was newly discovered, newly examined, and newly credited as one of the century's best novels.
Main idea of the reading passage:
- Joseph Heller’s novel Catch-22
What the novel is about:
- takes place during World War II
- features bombardier who does not want to be in war
How the novel achieved success:
- book was originally not successful
- during later war, book became very successful
Now listen to the passage. On a piece of paper, take notes on the main points of the listening passage.
[audio|src:'\listening\toefl_begin\CD6-54.mp3?20210805'|wait:185]
Let me talk a bit about the expression “catch-22.” Do you understand what a catch-22 is? This expression is so well known now that it has entered the American lexicon: well, a catch-22 1s a situation that is unresolvable, one where there is no good choice, no best path to take.
In Heller’s novel, the catch-22 is a very specific catch in a very specific situation. The situation in which the protagonist found himself was that he wanted to get out of combat by declaring himself insane. So you see that in this situation there was a very specific catch. In American culture now, though , this expression is used more generally. It refers to any situation where there’s a catch, where there’s no solution, where there’s no way out.
One more bit of information about the expression “catch-22,” about the number 22 in the expression. This number doesn’t have any real meaning it just signifies one in a long line of catches. Heller really could have used any number; it didn’t have to be 22. When Heller was first writing the book, he used the number 14; the book was originally titled Catch-14. Then in the production process, the number was changed to 18, so the title was Catch-18. But then there was a problem with the number 18 because there was another book with 18 in the title, so Heller’s title became Catch-22.
Main idea of the listening passage:
- significance of title Catch-22
significance of the title:
- title refers to situation with no good choice
- phrase now part of American culture
- number 22 has no special meaning (could be different number)
Now answer the following question:
How does the information in the listening passage add to the ideas presented in the reading passage?
Sample Answer: