ABSURDITY OF WAR IN JOSEPH HELLER’S CATCH 22 AND IN KURT VONNEGUT’S SLAUGHTERHOUSE 5

Abstract

In ancient wars, people who were not on the front lines were not affected much by the war and they were in a safer environment. However, in the wars of modern times, there is no longer much difference between being a civilian behind the front lines or a soldier fighting at the front because with the modern warfare methods and machines, war and terror are everywhere now. During World War II, thousands of people died because of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima, Nagasaki or the bombing of Dresden. And similar war disasters have happened many times and unfortunately, they still continue to happen. As a result of all, death and pain are increasingly losing their meaning and becoming ordinary. Considering the thousands who died in the wars, there being children and babies among them. This means that birth and death occur almost simultaneously. So, war disrupts the normal flow of events and facts and destroys the concept of time. From this point on life becomes absurd. In this paper, Joseph Heller's Catch 22 and Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5, which are about World War II, will be examined in terms of the absurdity of war and bureaucracy. While Captain Yossarian struggles in the absurd loop of war in Catch 22, Billy Pilgrim's time travels in Slaughterhouse 5 always lead to the traumatic moments he experienced in the war.

Keywords: World War II, Absurdity of war, Military bureaucracy, Catch 22, Slaughterhouse 5.