Use of Language and Dialogue Catch-22 “Catch-22 is probably best discussed in terms of language. The prose style Heller uses is original and distinctive, appropriate and well implemented (Pearson 277). One application of this prose style is dialogue; Heller uses dialogue to manifest the themes of the novel. Some of the themes best illustrated in the characters' dialogue are Heller's hatred of war and his perceived stupidity in the military and bureaucracy. Scattered throughout the book, several dialogues share many characteristics. Certain particular conversations are particularly demonstrative of these elements. Heller uses these dialogues to communicate his ideas to the reader. In chapter XXXVI, several military police officers pick up the camp chaplain, take him to La Cave and question him. The dialogue between the three deputies and the chaplain is typical of the book's dialogues in many ways and the conversation reflects many of Catch-22's central themes. The interrogation scene offers many insights into the meaning of Catch-22 and the dialogue that takes place there is particularly important. The camp Heller describes is bureaucratic in the worst possible way and the conversation exhibits the characteristics of bureaucracy that Heller hates most: illogical functioning, inability to act, lateral actions (in which no real gains are made) and a whirlwind of regulations that work against each other. The interrogation scene notably reflects the themes of the book: the logic used by the military police officers is completely illogical. Heller presents this as a major theme of his novel: throughout the book, the thought processes of the military agents make no sense and yet...... middle of paper ......ph Heller": Copyright 1996 by Charles Scribner's and Sons New York, NY. Frank, Mike. "Enos and Thanatos in Catch-22." Detroit: Gale, 1990. "Dramatic Tension in Catch-22." 22." Contemporary literary criticism. Vol. 8 (173), Ed. Roger Matuz: Gale 1990. Heller, Joseph. 3. New York. Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. Heller, Joseph Catch-22 New York: Dell Publishing, 1955 , 1961 Kennard, Jean E. “Joseph Heller: At War Against Absurdity.” Ed. Roger Matuz. Detroit: L Gale 1990. Pearson, Carol “Catch-22 and the Degradation of Language” (277). ) Matuz. 1990.