Lack of Meaning in Catch 22Most of what we say has no meaning. This idea is supported on every page of Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. Almost every scene in the novel contains dialogue where people talk aimlessly and have no explanation as to why they are talking. Colonel Cargill addresses his men by saying, "You are American officers. Officers of no other army in the world can make such a statement. Even if the remark is true, it has no meaning. These types of casual statements and dialogue occur throughout the book. Another situation where two people talk nonsense is when Clevinger is questioned. “I didn't say you couldn't punish me,” said Clevinger. “When?” sir?" "Now you're asking me questions again." "I'm sorry, sir. I'm afraid I don't understand your question." Later in the interrogation, the colonel is so convoluted in his conversation that he no longer wants to know when Clevinger said he couldn't be punished. Now he wants to know when Clevinger didn't say he couldn't be punished. punished. Clevinger quickly retorts and states, "I didn't always say you couldn't punish me, sir." Ultimately, the Colonel is satisfied with that answer even though Clevinger's statement doesn't answer the question and has no meaning he spoke nonsense. It just didn't make sense. For example, he told Sergeant Towser, his assistant: "From now on, I don't want anyone to come and see me while I'm here, when anyone could have seen him." what if he could only go to his office when Major Major was out? When Appleby once went to see Major Major, he started talking to Sergeant Tows... middle of paper... full wavelength. This is seen when Clevinger is interrogated. The Colonel and Clevinger think so differently at that moment, that there is no way they could understand each other. This book certainly makes you understand how difficult it is to communicate, the problems people have in trying to understand each other and realizing that sometimes what we say has no meaning. Works Cited: Frank, Mike. "Enos and Thanatos in Catch-22." Contemporary literary criticism. Ed. Ruggero Matuz. Vol.11. (77-87) Heller, Joseph. Capture-22. Detroit: Gale, 1990. Kennard, Jean E. “Joseph Heller: At War with Absurdity.” Contemporary literary criticism.(75-87) Ed. Ruggero Matuz. Detroit:L Gale 1990.Pearson, Carol. "Catch 22 and the debasement of language". Contemporary literary criticism. (277) Matuz . Detroit: L. Gale 1990.