Greed for Power and Money in Catch-22 Although Catch-22 is a novel set entirely in wartime , the book uses comedy to emphasize the physical and emotional aspect. pain of war. The novel shows us how people are transformed by war and how their orientations change through different experiences. Many people in the book are disgusted by their commanders and the conditions around them. Joseph Heller served in the war, witnessed crazy events, and met strange people like those in the book. Reading the novel, we see that he strongly hated war. There are many themes in the novel, two of the main themes are greed for power and money. Greed for power is a major theme in Catch-22. There are many characters who push others aside for their own gain of power. Perhaps the most notorious power-hungry character in the book is Colonel Cathcart. Colonel Cathcart desperately wants to become a major. If he gets promoted, he'll have a lot more power, and power is what he wants. Cathcart is constantly increasing the number of missions pilots and bombers must complete in order to be completed. Cathcart restarts missions to call on commanders. The men vehemently hate Cathcart for doing this because it changes their lives. Every time they believe they are about to be freed from the war, he increases the missions and ruins their plans. The problem with Cathcart is that he is competitive and only thinks about what he is doing in relation to what others are doing. He knew that most men his age were not of age, so his only goal was to come of age at his young age of 36. He would do anything to those below him to achieve major status.&nbs...... middle of paper ...... sticky wire plating between men's wrists and hips. He wanted to surgically install copper cables so that the men would not move their arms while walking, but he only forgot about it after realizing that the cable and the operation would cost too much and the men would not be able to fall drunk at the end of the parade. Scheisskopf viewed men as toy soldiers whom he could manipulate in any way possible to become the best march coordinator of all time. He wanted to manipulate them just so he could be famous and climb the ranks to the rank of general. There are many themes in Catch 22, two of the main themes are greed for power and money. Greed for power and money takes control of many men in this novel. These men are presented to send a clear message. Heller says war is a terrible thing because it corrupts people and confuses them.