Catch-22

It was kinda funny reading this immediately after Starship Troopers, which was very much about putting yourself on the line for the good of society. Here we have a book which questions whether it makes any sense to the individual to do that, especially when inspiring leadership is nothing but a fantasy. This is a predecessor of MAS*H and Black Adder goes Forth.

“From now on I'm thinking only of me.”

Major Danby replied indulgently with a superior smile: “But, Yossarian, suppose everyone felt that way.”

“Then,” said Yossarian, “I'd certainly be a damned fool to feel any other way, wouldn't I?”

“Man was matter. Drop him out of a window and he'll fall. Set fire to him and he'll burn. Bury him and he'll rot, like other kinds of garbage.”

“The enemy,” retorted Yossarian with weighted precision, “is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on, and that includes Colonel Cathcart. And don't you forget that, because the longer you remember it, the longer you might live.”