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Quiz about Whats The Catch
Quiz about Whats The Catch

What's The Catch? Trivia Quiz

Joseph Heller's "Catch-22" is a masterpiece of absurdist literature; as such, it's rife with some logical and ethical inconsistencies. Can you make sense of this seminal satire?

A multiple-choice quiz by OddballJunior. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
OddballJunior
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
402,936
Updated
Mar 06 24
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
148
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Question 1 of 10
1. Catch-22 is set on an American airbase on an island off the coast of Italy. While the island is not fictional, it is too small to have actually housed an air base. What's the island called? Hint


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Question 2 of 10
2. In the original pressings of the novel, the Chaplain is named R.O. Shipman; when his name was changed in the 1970 film adaptation the change was kept in subsequent American editions. What name is the Chaplain given in these pressings of the novel? Hint


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Question 3 of 10
3. Three generals are major players throughout the novel - one, Dreedle, oversees the base at Pianosa; another, Peckem, wants very badly to oversee the base on Pianosa. Who is the third, who is unwittingly promoted to General and replaces Dreedle near the end of the novel? Hint


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Question 4 of 10
4. Yossarian meets an Italian woman named Luciana who will not marry him because she thinks he is crazy for wanting to marry her. When she writes down her address for Yossarian, what does she correctly guess that he will do with it? Hint


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Question 5 of 10
5. While it is theoretically in Doctor Daneeka's power to do something which would ground Yossarian, it is an act made impossible by military bureaucracy. What would Daneeka have to do? Hint


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Question 6 of 10
6. While censoring mail in the hospital, Yossarian begins fraudulently signing letters with the name "Washington Irving" for his own entertainment. Who else, later in the novel, begins signing official documents this way, and even wears a disguise while doing so? Hint


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Question 7 of 10
7. Doctor Daneeka is required to fly despite being a non-combatant, so he fraudulently puts his name on manifests of several of McWatt's flights. What happens to Daneeka when McWatt crashes his plane and dies? Hint


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Question 8 of 10
8. A young soldier named Giuseppe causes an uproar in the Pianosa hospital when he makes a bold, delirious claim; the doctors study him for a day or two, and he dies before his family can arrive to visit. What does Giuseppe claim, as noted in the title of the chapter in which he appears? Hint


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Question 9 of 10
9. While the term is now understood as a logical paradox, "Catch-22" is cited throughout the novel as a specific rule, though its text is never stated outright. What does Yossarian realize about Catch-22 late in the novel? Hint


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Question 10 of 10
10. What becomes of Yossarian's roommate, Orr, by the end of the novel? Hint





Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Catch-22 is set on an American airbase on an island off the coast of Italy. While the island is not fictional, it is too small to have actually housed an air base. What's the island called?

Answer: Pianosa

 In real life, Pianosa houses little besides a prison. It was used as a penal colony in the 19th and 20th centuries and during WWII, it was occupied by Germany. The island was evacuated in 1998 when the Italian government closed the penitentiary.
2. In the original pressings of the novel, the Chaplain is named R.O. Shipman; when his name was changed in the 1970 film adaptation the change was kept in subsequent American editions. What name is the Chaplain given in these pressings of the novel?

Answer: A.T. Tappman

 His name was changed such that the simple act of introducing himself to others would be an embarrassing ordeal, playing greatly into his nervous and sensitive personality. The name "Shipman" is maintained in British pressings.
3. Three generals are major players throughout the novel - one, Dreedle, oversees the base at Pianosa; another, Peckem, wants very badly to oversee the base on Pianosa. Who is the third, who is unwittingly promoted to General and replaces Dreedle near the end of the novel?

Answer: Scheisskopf

 Scheisskopf was Yossarian's commanding officer in basic training, known for his obsession with parades and marching. When he is promoted to Dreedle's previous position due to an error by Ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen, Wintergreen and Peckem panic in one of the few chapters of the novel which is entirely comedic.
4. Yossarian meets an Italian woman named Luciana who will not marry him because she thinks he is crazy for wanting to marry her. When she writes down her address for Yossarian, what does she correctly guess that he will do with it?

Answer: Tear it up and throw it away

 Yossarian spends much of the rest of the novel trying to find Luciana, to no avail. During the time that they're together, Hungry Joe tries to break into Yossarian's room to take pictures of them.
5. While it is theoretically in Doctor Daneeka's power to do something which would ground Yossarian, it is an act made impossible by military bureaucracy. What would Daneeka have to do?

Answer: Declare Yossarian insane

 The only ways that Yossarian can stop flying missions are if he meets the required number, is declared insane, or dies. He cannot meet the required number because Colonel Cathcart continually raises it throughout the novel, and he is understandably determined not to die - but in order to be declared insane, he would have to ask Doctor Daneeka to screen him for insanity.

In doing so, he would show concern for his own well-being which, from the military's perspective, is the sure function of a sane mind, so he would be declared sane by the virtue of fearing for his sanity and safety. If he was actually insane, like McWatt, he would have no issue flying dangerous missions.
6. While censoring mail in the hospital, Yossarian begins fraudulently signing letters with the name "Washington Irving" for his own entertainment. Who else, later in the novel, begins signing official documents this way, and even wears a disguise while doing so?

Answer: Major Major

 He does this so that documents which leave his desk stop coming back with further addenda for him to sign; he wears the disguise so that he won't be recognized even if he's caught. Eventually, his and Yossarian's forgeries are blamed on the Chaplain.
7. Doctor Daneeka is required to fly despite being a non-combatant, so he fraudulently puts his name on manifests of several of McWatt's flights. What happens to Daneeka when McWatt crashes his plane and dies?

Answer: He is also declared dead

 After McWatt accidentally kills Kid Sampson, Yossarian and Nurse Duckett call out to Daneeka to jump out from McWatt's plane despite the fact that he is standing right next to them and keeps saying so. McWatt crashes and his plane explodes; since nobody saw Daneeka jump out, they are both declared dead.

His wife is notified back in the States and, having become suddenly rich, moves and leaves no forwarding address. Catch-22 can, at times, be cruel.
8. A young soldier named Giuseppe causes an uproar in the Pianosa hospital when he makes a bold, delirious claim; the doctors study him for a day or two, and he dies before his family can arrive to visit. What does Giuseppe claim, as noted in the title of the chapter in which he appears?

Answer: He sees everything twice

 Yossarian makes the same claim after noting the ruckus Giuseppe caused; for this reason, when Giuseppe's family arrives in the hopes of seeing him, the doctors send Yossarian in his place. Though the doctors ask him to pretend to be Giuseppe, he makes no effort to do so, and even insists to the family that his name is Yossarian - either way, none of them seem to mind.
9. While the term is now understood as a logical paradox, "Catch-22" is cited throughout the novel as a specific rule, though its text is never stated outright. What does Yossarian realize about Catch-22 late in the novel?

Answer: It's not real

 After speaking to a woman in war-torn Rome, Yossarian realizes that Catch-22 is whatever it needs to be in order to keep people in line - it keeps him flying missions, it forces Cathcart and Korn to promote Yossarian for a dangerous act, and it permits the enforcement of Captain Black's loyalty oaths, as well as anything else it needs to permit or excuse to keep the men fighting and keep power structures where they are.
10. What becomes of Yossarian's roommate, Orr, by the end of the novel?

Answer: He escapes to Sweden

 Dobbs dies in the crash that kills Nately, and Clevinger and the crew of his plane disappear behind a cloud late in the novel. Orr writes to Yossarian while he is in the hospital recovering from an assassination attempt carried out by an "enemy spy" (actually Nately's favorite prostitute). This inspires Yossarian to go AWOL and join his roommate in neutral territory.
Source: Author OddballJunior

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor LeoDaVinci before going online.
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Referenced Topics
Literature   General   People   Entertainment   Government   Names   Italy Geography   In the Title   Islands   Italian Language   Germany   The Color Black   Prisons   Assassinations   Washington   Rome   Sweden   Italians: Famous & Historical   Washington Irving   Joseph Heller  

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