What does the 22 refer to? I understand the meaning of a Catch 22 I just never knew about the number. Any help would be appreciated!!
shareIt's just an arbitrary number that sounds good.
It was originally supposed to be 18, which, for some deeply-seated but inexplicable psychological reason, is everyone's favorite arbitrary number. There was fear that would create confusion with the book Mila 18.
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To me, it's a dark joke, a jab at military obsession with bureaucracy, suggesting that they would actually assemble and number an official list of "catches" meant to trap soldiers into unreasonable situations. I guess the number 22 means there are many such catches and this one, as insane as it is, isn't even close to the worst one.
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The numerology angle is interesting, but not apropos. The novel's title was changed from Heller's original Catch-18 to -22 because Leon Uris had just published Mila 18 the year before, and the publisher didn't want any confusion from potential buyers.
--Jack, you have debauched my sloth!
I don't think there is any particular importance to the number. Why is the tax form a 1040? I think the significance lies in the phrase itself. It's almost as if seeking some meaning in the #22 brings one to the cusp of a catch-22 dilemma. The significance rests in that there is no significance in the #22 - so the fact that there is no significance to the #22 is inherently significant.
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