In his World War II novel, Catch-22, Joseph Heller satirizes a variety of bureaucrats and the military-industrial complex. In this story the protagonist is Captain Joseph Yossarian, a World War II bombardier, who is being stationed on the island of Pisona. He is an individualist who seeks to protect his own life and tries various means to extricate himself from further missions because he hates the war. Clevinger is a member of Yossarian’s squadron …showed first 75 words of 862 total…

…showed last 75 words of 862 total…When Yossarian realizes that he has no other choice and decides to actively face the consequence of becoming a deserter, he is rejecting the status of being a vegetable and re-establishes his identity as a human being. Although he may indeed be caught and punished by the military bureaucracy, the individual has triumphed against the institution because he is no longer afraid of the punishment that the institution uses as a restraint against such behavior.