Website Overview:
This website was created by students from Da Vinci Charter Academy as part of the America At War project. The students who created this site studied World War II, read Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, and interviewed a veteran who fought in World War II in order to answer the following questions that drove this project:
○ How does war impact the individual?
○ How does war impact society?
○ What is the cost of war?
○ Can war, with all of its destruction, be beneficial?
○ How does war impact the individual?
○ How does war impact society?
○ What is the cost of war?
○ Can war, with all of its destruction, be beneficial?
On this site you will find...
Brief Summary of the World War II
World War II was primarily fought because of the deterioration the Treaty of Versailles had on Germany’s economic power and strength as an overall country. This resulted in a rise of intense National Socialism throughout Germany, which eventually gave power to Adolf Hitler and his followers. Concurrent to these events in Europe, Japan was also facing a rise of intense Imperialism. World War II was a direct result of these countries aggressive actions. It officially began on September 1st, 1939, with the Invasion of Poland by the Germans. Up until 1945, numerous battles were fought on multiple fronts; the Allied Forces (England, France, Russian and America) against the Axis Forces (Germany, Italy, and Japan). The ending of this war was in favor of the Allied Forces; it ended with the surrender of Germany in April of 1945. Soon after, Japan surrendered in August of 1945 after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. With the lessons they learned from the First World War, the Allied forces helped to rebuild Japan and Germany and give them a democratic government. However, Russia wanted to spread communism, thus resulting in yet another war, the Cold War.
Catch-22: Summary
Joseph Heller
Catch-22, written by Joseph Heller, is a complicated story set on a fictional island called Pianosa during World War II. The book is written in a satirical manner that shows the absurdity of war. The story winds around in non chronological order, creating a confusing but intriguing story that takes one through the experiences of soldiers, captains, and citizens alike. The general sense of underlying insanity that surrounds the men who fear their death creates a story that shows human characteristics such as greed and violence, the oppression of the military, alongside loyalty, love, and desperate struggle to stay alive. It is written from the narrative of Captain Yossarian, an ex bombardier, who is insistent on getting out of the war. He does everything in his power to wiggle his way out, but is trapped on all sides. He finds that if he is crazy, he does not have to fly more missions. But, if he is scared to fly more missions, and asks to be let go, this shows the process of a sane mind, a mind that is not crazy. Consequently, to be let go, the soldier has to ask, and if he asks he can not be let go. So Yossarian obsessively tries to convince everyone that he is insane, so he does not have to fly any more missions, and by doing this, he makes himself crazy. Many of the characters live in this same paradox of being boxed in on all sides; "damned if you do, damned if you don't!". This major focus of the story was "Catch-22", which embodied the idea that there was no way out, no matter what you did. This idea reappears throughout the story with different characters, but ultimately, this is a story where every character, and every event represents an idea or thing that in the end, gives the reader a sense of the complete, satirical nature and absurdity of war.