I thought I'd try another one.
Snowden
Snowden is used as a symbol to all that have been destroyed because of the war. The name "Snowden" can simply be a play on the word "snow". In chapter 41, Heller cleverly uses this simile: "The yawning wound was dripping blood, like snow melting on eaves.", to compare blood to melting snow. This got me to thinking that maybe the name "Snowden" is a symbol of the blood shed from the war. Another way that the name "Snowden" can be interpreted is the fact that it sounds just like the phrase "snowed in". When one is "snowed in", he/she is usually trapped inside a building because of a large amount of snow. Snowden is trapped in the war and is unable to escape it's clutches.
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It seems that with Catch 22, all of the men are "trapped" in the war. There is no way out...but we learn that isn't exactly true, right?
ReplyDeleteRight. But Heller consistently informs the the reader that the soldiers are trapped in the war. The ending is when this trap is broken. So, during the whole novel, except the ending, it sounds to me like Heller uses Snowden as a symbol to what being "trapped" is like. I have no evidence, however, to prove that the name Snowden is supposed to sound like "snowed in". This is just a theory.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, thanks for the feedback. :]
ReplyDeleteSnowden's name can also represent the way he was trapped within his own death. Because as mentioned before the name sounds like "snowed in", and as he was dying he ws trapped in the plane with snow falling around. and yet he had no way to escape while in mid air. His death was something that came upon him without any warning, like it fell from the sky, also like snow. Snowden's death is referred to throughout the whole novel when the men feel pressured or upset so obviously this was a traumatizing experience that show's the impact of war at its truest.
ReplyDeleteSnowden's name represents how he died in an ice cold tomb of aluminum. At the time of his death he could neither get better because his wounds were too severe or get progressively worse because Yossarian was tending to his wonds, therefore he is "snowed in". Its almost like the phase "stuck between a rock and a hard place". Also, he's called snowden because all he could say was "I'm cold".
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