An Existential Analysis of Catch-22ContentsAcknowledgements......................................................................................... . (i)Abstract(English)........................................................................................... .. (ii)Abstract(Chinese).......................................................................................... .. (iii)1. Introduction.................................................................................................. .. (1)1.1Catch-22.......................................................................................................... (1)1.2 WritingBackground ..............................................................................................12. TheExistentialism…........................................................................................... (2)2.1 “I think, so I a m” and “e xistence beforeessence” (2)2.2 The initiative of the soldiers (3)3. FreeChoice ......................................................................................................... (4)3.1 Orr................................................................................................................... . (5)3.2Yossarian ......................................................................................................... (6)4. The Absurdity of theWorld (7)4.1 The Absolute power of the Bureaucracy (7)4.2 The Moral Insanity (8)4.3 The Inevitability of Death (9)5.Conclusion .................................................................................................... (10)WorkCited.............................................................................................................. (12)AbstractThis paper is going to talk about the existentialism in Joseph Heller’s masterpiece Catch-22. As regards to the influence of existentialism on literature, Jean Paul Sartre’s theories are the one of the great significance, which is the main concern in this thesis.Joseph Heller (1923-1999) is one of the most representative writers of Black Humor, which forecasts the dominating of American post-modernism literature. The heart of Black Humor is the description of the absurdity of the world, which is also a doctrine of existentialism. So it is said that existentialism is one of the origins of Black Humor.In Catch-22, there are bounds of freedom and the struggles to get off from them, which is a main theme of the book. And as regard to Sartre’s existentialism, the central thought is the freedom to choose what one wants to be or to do, which agrees with the theme of Catch-22 above I have mentioned. So in this paper I just choose Sartre’s existentialist thoughts to analyze it, despite other existentialists. Existentialism is a different point of view to look at the traditional war-novel, from which I think a deeper and more theoretical criticism of the war as well as that of the world can be obtained.For the value of this paper, first of all, it will prove Catch-22 an existential novel. Both centered on the theme of freedom, this novel and existentialism share the same basis, so it’s natural to connect them together. Also, there is chapter four on absurdity to illustrate this point. Thirdly, I want to stress the subjectivity and advantages of existentialism. Although many people think it assuperficial and spiritual, it stresses on humanism, paying attention to initiative and subjectivity, which are still hot centers of discussion till now.Key words: Catch-22;Existentialism; Free choice; Absurdity内容摘要约瑟夫·海勒的代表作《二十二条军规》中渗透着存在主义的思想,这也是本论文讨论的主旨所在。
在存在主义理论，特别是其对文学有影响的存在主义理论中，萨特的理论是有着重要的地位。
虽然他的理论观点看法总是在不断地改进中，自由问题始终是他所重点关注的问题。
萨特的哲学被称为“自由哲学”的原因，就是因为他对人类自由问题的关注和阐释。
根据萨特的重要理论“存在先于本质”，人必须得先发挥主动性积极为自己思考，然后去做自由的选择，这些也是本论文中要涉及的内容。
虽然萨特本体论为彻底完善，但使用它分析小说,可以从宏观上看到海勒对军队，对战争的厌恶,以及对社会的批判。
约瑟夫·海勒是黑色幽默小说的代表作家之一，而黑色幽默小说预示着美国后现代文学将在美国文坛占有重要的地位。
黑色幽默理论的核心是世界的荒诞性，而这也是存在主义所坚持的信条。
本论文通过存在主义，特别是萨特的存在主义理论，尝试着从一个全新的角度去阐释《第二十二条军规》从存在主义关于自由，世界荒谬性，对人的主动性的强调，我们可以看到，小说中无处不渗透着存在主义的痕迹。
在本文里我想强调存在主义的优点之一，注重人的主动性。
虽然很多人认为它是迷信的精神的，但是它强调人道主义，注重人的主动性和主体性，而这些现在仍是被讨论的重点。
关键词：《第二十二条军规》；存在主义；自由；荒诞性An Existential Analysis of Catch-22OutlineThesis Statement: This paper is meant to talk about the existentialism in Joseph Heller’s masterpiece Catch-22. As regards to the influence ofexistentialism on literature, Jean Paul Sartre’s theories arethe one of the outstanding significance, which is the mainconcern in this thesis. In Catch-22, there are bounds offreedom as well as the struggles to get off from them, which is amain theme of the book. And for Sartre’s existentialism, thecentral thought is the freedom to choose what one wants to beor to do, which agrees with the theme of Catch-22 above I havementioned. So here I just choose Sartre’s existentialistthoughts to analyze it.Ⅰ. Introduction: Catch-22 and its writing backgroundⅡ. The ExistentialismA. “I think, so I a m” and “e x istence before essence”B. The initiative of the soldiersⅢ. Free ChoiceA. OrrB. YossarianⅣ. The Absurdity of the WorldA. The Absolute power of the BureaucracyB. The Moral InsanityC. The Inevitability of DeathⅤ. Conclusion毕业论文开题报告1．结合毕业论文课题情况，根据所查阅的文献资料，每人撰写500 字左右的文献综述，阐述当前的研究现状：Literature ReviewJoseph Heller, one of the most outstanding American novelists and the representative of Black Humor, His first and best known novel Catch-22 is now widely recognized as one of the most important books written by Americans since World War II. term "Catch-22" has entered the American vocabulary to express the frustration of encountering absurd obstacles. Therefore a thorough existentialist reading of Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 may give us some enlightenment and inspiration.According to Brian Czech in her essay A potential catch-22 for a sustainable American ideology, the history of American ideology includes elements of increasing sustainability. Laissez-faire, racism, sexism, and anthropocentrism have been declining throughout the 20th century, as indicated by various social movements and institutional developments.Economic growth has proceeded concurrently and the material standard of living has generally done likewise. Proponents of an environmental Kuznets curve posit that continued economic growth and associated increases in the standard of living will have the effect of, and are required for, producing an increasingly sustainable ideology.In the paper of From Modernism to Postmodernism, the auther Zhao Guofan says it is widely accepted that the emergence of Black Humor was under the influence of Existentialism. Existentialism is a philosophy which grew out of France around World War II, with Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus as its representatives. The two world wars exerted great influence on Existentialism and Black Humor, both of which share a common viewpoint of the artistic demand of facing up an absurd universe without intrinsic values. Joseph Heller, as a Black Humorist, was inevitably influenced by the existentialist philosophy and presented it in his Catch-22There was a study by Gary w . Davis, in A detailed Summary of Catch 22, he criticized that through Catch-22Joseph Heller permeates the idea that there is no single definitive truth, that the world is the form of a continual clash of truths. Heller permeates his ideas of existentialism throughout the novel. Each character lives within his/her own world where each creates their individual ideas of right and wrong. Through this no single truth remains a constant. The principal behind existentialism states that oneself is the only definitive reference to what may be perceived of the world. The only truths that remain become those created by the individual. Each character within Catch-22 lives within the world perceived by their mind, the ideas of right and wrong perpetuated by the individual.Catch-22 is an extraordinary novel whose basic assumption is that all毕业论文开题报告２．本课题研究的主要内容和拟解决的问题：主要内容：20世纪60年代称霸于西方剧坛的荒诞派戏剧以萨特的存在主义哲学为思想基拙，强调人的分离与隔膜、存在的危机与友酷、人生的无用以及世界的荒诞。