Through the generosity of the late Professor Benedict Anderson and Ajarn Charnvit Kasetsiri, the Thammasat University Libraries have newly acquired an important book in modern American literature. The novel Catch-22 has introduced a new term in the English language. Students and ajarns in the field of the philosophy of logic may have heard of a catch-22 or a catch-22 situation. This occurs when there is no way out because existing rules do not permit escape. The author Joseph Heller, who published the novel Catch-22 in 1961, invented the expression. An example of a catch-22 situation would be if a student said:

I have trouble speaking English because I can never get enough practice talking to farangs, since my English is not good enough to communicate with them.

Another example would be if a student said:

I try to avoid reading in English because I would need to read much more in English to be able to enjoy it and understand what I am reading.

Catch-22s may happen when we are in a situation where we feel we have little control over the results that may affect us. Joseph Heller was writing about bureaucracy in the American Air Force during World War II.

Here are some usage examples of the phrase catch-22:

• Duterte faces a catch-22 situation: talking to China while treaty commitments push him into a showdown with it once America uses the alliance system and coercive measures to compel compliance with a UN decision that may be unfavourable to China.
• The South China Sea has more than just sovereign disputes among the claimant states. There are issues that also involve all Asean member states, such as how to persuade China to start official discussion on the drafting of the code of conduct (COC) in the South China Sea. What we see now is a Catch-22 situation. Asean wants an early conclusion of the COC in order to restore confidence between Asean and China. But China says it will engage Asean on drafting the COC “only when conditions are ripe”. For the time being China just wants to rebuild mutual trust by implementing cooperation projects under the existing framework of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).
• Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said his team were not physically ready for the Premier League season after opening the campaign with a chaotic 4-3 defeat at home to Liverpool… “Physically we are not ready,” Wenger told reporters at the Emirates Stadium. “You are in a Catch 22 situation with the Euros — do you give the players a rest and start the season without many of your players? Or do they play in this kind of game and get injured, like Ramsey today?
• That is the Catch-22 of constitutional reform in Albany, New York, USA — we can’t fix the Constitution because of the flaws in the Legislature, and we can’t fix the Legislature because of the flaws in the Constitution. A convention is the only way around this perennial roadblock.
• The sequel thing is so funny because, we decided obviously to go down the road with ‘Anchorman,’ and we made what I thought was a really great sequel, really funny,” the American film comedian Will Ferrell said. “The entertainment media and fans beg you, and beg you, and beg you for sequels, and then you make it and you definitely have a fraction that’s like, ‘Well, not as good as the first one.’ So I guess it’s a catch-22. It’s a nice catch-22, because people love the movies in the first place.”

The TU Libraries own other books by and about Joseph Heller. The newly acquired copy of Catch-22 is shelved in the Charnvit Kasetsiri Room of the Pridi Banomyong Library. It is a satirical work about how peace is preferable to war. Joseph Heller based the book on his own experience in the American Air Force during the Second World War. Heller was reported to be inspired by The Good Soldier Schweik, a novel about the First World War by the Czech author Jaoslav Hašek. The Good Soldier Schweik is also a humorous book about bureaucracy. The TU Libraries own two copies of The Good Soldier Schweik. They are shelved in the fiction stacks of the Pridi Banomyong Library and the Puey Ungphakorn Library, Rangsit Campus. Originally Heller wanted to call his novel Catch-18, but he decided that Catch-22 sounded funnier, for reasons he has never explained.

Upcoming TV film and other significance

It has been announced that the American actor George Clooney will star in and direct a six-episode limited series adaptation of Catch-22. Almost fifty years ago, Catch-22 was adapted into a feature film. It was directed by Mike Nichols. Its current significance is also seen in a charity organization founded in the United Kingdom. Catch22 was founded to help people through seemingly impossible situations. It offers family support and many others services to those who are facing major challenges in life. According to one report,

The name [Catch22], announced last week, uses the phrase made famous by the title of Joseph Heller’s Second World War novel to reflect the impossible situations the charity says many of its young beneficiaries find themselves in… Simon Myers, director of Fig Tree, the agency that designed the Catch22 brand, said:.. “The name owns the issue. For example, you can’t get a job without an address, but can’t get an address without a job. Catch22 takes you straight to the heart of the issue.”

Catch22 has 1500 staff and volunteers focusing on the social welfare cycle. It helps current 30,000, including new-born infants and adults seeking jobs. It also offers alternative education, apprenticeships, employability programs, and children’s social care, among other services. Her Royal Highness Princess Anne is patron of the organization. Catch22 received its new name in 2008, but its origins date back to the UK’s Royal Philanthropic Society, founded in London in 1788. This association was created to attempt to help the many homeless children who were begging in the streets of England at the time. Catch22’s website explains that its vision relies on three basic elements:

• Good people: This is about putting the human connections and relationships back into public services. Our experience teaches us time and time again that what makes a difference in people’s lives are strong and meaningful relationships with good people who care. Whatever their needs, we surround our service users with a positive network of good people.
• A purpose: Having something meaningful to do is essential for people trying to build better lives for themselves and their families. That could be a job, an apprenticeship, education, training or even a social action project that contributes positively to their communities. The sense of achievement and value that comes with purposeful activity helps people understand their own potential and opens the door to real opportunity.
• A good place to live: If a person has a good place to live, a community where they feel safe and at home, they can properly focus on making changes in the rest of their lives. This is also about encouraging and enabling communities to be more active and engaged, a vital first step in creating a thriving and prosperous society.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)