A Marxist reading allows the critic to see Catch 22, by Joseph Heller, not simply as an anti-war novel but as a satirical representation of the absurdity of American bureaucracy. and capitalism, and thus shows to what extent the situation of the time concerned Heller. The novel is set in Italy during World War II and follows Yossarian who is part of an air squadron. Yet Heller confirms that “the elements which inspired the ideas came to me from the civil situation in this country in the 1950s”. Marxist literary criticism asserts that writers are formed by their social context. Indeed, Heller's social and political climate gave rise to Catch 22, whose complacent attitude towards profit at the expense of the individual Heller criticizes. This is achieved through the voices of key characters, such as Yossarian, who dare to question the moral complacency of Catch-22's military bureaucracy. While Yossarian fights against self-serving bureaucracy, Heller illustrates that the individual will always fight against the special interests that control the world. The phrase Catch 22, which after the novel's publication became a common idiom, plays a central role in the novel. . This can be seen as the unwritten loophole in any written law that allows authorities to revoke your rights whenever it suits them; it is, in short, the principle of absolute evil in a malevolent and imperfect world. Pursued by Catch-22, Yossarian becomes a tormented witness to the massacre of his crew members and the destruction of all of his closest friends, until finally his fear of death becomes so intense that he refuses to bear a uniform, after his was splashed. with the guts of his dying gunner. Yossarian's predica...... middle of paper ...... Np, nd Web. April 28, 2014. Bertens, Johannes Willem. “Class politics: Marxism”. Literary theory: the basics. London: Routledge, 2001. 81-83. Print.Barry, Peter. Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. 2nd ed. Manchester: Manchester UP, 1995. 158-168. Print.Dobie, Ann B. “Chapter 5: Marxist Critique.” From theory to practice: an introduction to literary criticism. Florence, KY: Heinle, 2011. N. pag. Print.McMurry, Abby. Power and Profit Before People: Catch-22's critique of post-World War II American complacency. Essay. NdNp: np, nd Print. Sanders, Emily. “No end in sight”: the anti-hero and the futility of war in Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Essay. NdNp: np, nd Print.Ghosh, Nibir. “War and the pity of war: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. » The IUP Journal of English Studies VII.2 (June 2012): 51-60. Internet. April 30. 2014.