The concept of war is both horribly tragic and profoundly absurd. Through their respective texts, Catch-22 and Slaughterhouse-Five, authors Joseph Heller and George Roy Hill capture the very essence of war and its tragic absurdity, while employing a range of stylistic techniques intended to engage, amuse and shock the public. In Catch-22, Heller explores not only the inevitable fate of soldiers during World War II, but also the absurdity with which their lives ended and, to a greater extent, expresses his concerns about the practice of war in contemporary society. Heller achieves this by employing a range of techniques, including irony and satire, characterization, motifs, symbolism, and paradox. In contrast, while Hill's Slaughterhouse-Five also explores the horrors and futility of World War II, it also introduces the concept of alien intervention and time travel, giving the film an unsettling and absurd. Through the use of cinematic techniques such as characterization, diegetic sound, camera angles, direction and editing, Hill also expresses his concerns regarding war within today's society and emphasizes the uselessness of hostile societal groups. Through the employment of stylistic features such as Heller's irony and Hill's diegetic sound, both authors are able to convey the absolute absurdity of war. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Irony is certainly introduced by Heller when the belongings of a deceased, unnamed soldier are discovered in Yossarian's room and Major Major comes to the conclusion that the person who had the right to remove his belongings [...] was Yossarian himself, and Yossarian, it seemed [...], had no rights. This use of irony highlights not only the absurdity of militaristic bureaucracy and the absurd nature of war, but also the tragedy of so many soldiers killed needlessly and unacknowledged. In contrast, Hill uses diegetic sound to express his idea of ​​the tragic absurdity of war, notably in a scene depicting a group of English soldiers singing Hail, Hail the yanks are here in the middle of a camp setting. German prisoners of war. The jovial nature of this music in the face of such a dark and tragic situation highlights the absurdity of the concept of war and arouses both humor and empathy for the soldiers in the camp. Indeed, through the use of irony and diegetic sound respectively, Heller and Hill are able to express their concerns regarding the tragically absurd nature of war. Heller and Hill's use of characteristics is also another characteristic used to convey the idea that war is tragically absurd. Heller's satirical characterization of the anti-heroic protagonist John Yossarian, who displays intense paranoia and obsession with his mortality, [deciding] to live forever or die in the attempt..., largely reflects the point of view post-war veterans. Through Yossarian's voice, Heller conveys the tragic state of mind of disillusioned soldiers returning home and expresses his idea that the act of war is both pointless and absurd. Hill's cowardly protagonist, Billy Pilgrim, contrasts greatly with Heller's Yossarian, however, as rather than being determined to live, he is passive and accepts the inevitability of death. Hill's depiction of the absurdity of war is particularly evident through the characterizationof Billy in a flashback to his childhood, when his father tells him that's it Billy, you either sink or you swim, to which Billy does not respond. Through Pilgrim's characterization, the viewer is introduced to the concept of nihilism, or the belief that existence is meaningless, which highlights the tragic absurdity of the events Billy endures during the war. Clearly, through the employment of characterization, Heller and Hill explore both the ruthlessness and absurdity found in the midst of war. Additionally, Heller and Hill employ the stylistic techniques of motifs and camera shots to express their ideas about war, and its tragic and absurd nature. The ever-increasing number of missions required by soldiers to retire is one such motif that explores the concept of absurdity within war. As Yossarian explains, Colonel Cathcart demands that the men remain on base until he no longer has enough men [for] the crews, then increases the number of missions and [puts] them into effect. combat status, despite the fact that the Air Force only requires them to complete forty missions. The tragically ironic idea that if the men disobey Cathcart's orders they will be court-martialed, but if they attempt them they face certain death, is essentially a trap and highlights not only the absurd nature of the act of war, but also the senselessness of bureaucracy. In contrast, Hill uses shots and camera angles to explore the tragic absurdity of war that affects so many lives. During the scene in which Pilgrim prepares for surgery, a high angle shot of Pilgrim on his bed is used by Hill to express the vulnerability to which Billy has been made susceptible as a result of the horrors of war. The bizarre quality of the shot also encapsulates the absurdity of World War II and the deeply damaging and tragic impact it had on the soldiers and civilians who endured it. Certainly, Heller's and Hill's use of motif, shots and camera angles respectively, allows each author to express their concerns about the devastating and dark impact of the war. Heller and Hill also employ the techniques of symbolism and mise-en-scene to convey the idea that the absurd act of war only ends in tragedy. Heller introduces the presence of the Soldier in White, a soldier completely covered in bandages, as a symbol of the anonymity of death in war, but emphasizes the idea that all they actually saw of the soldier was a frayed black hole above the mouth. The idea that no one knows the identity of the soldier in white, and that later in the novel he is replaced by another soldier in white, is symbolic of the tragedy by which war not only dehumanizes the victims, but allows human beings to become useless in the name of a political agenda. In an alternative way, Hill uses the technique of staging to convey his ideas about the absurdity of war and the ultimate destitution of life. In a long shot depicting a pilgrim captured after the Battle of the Bulge and transferred to a detention center, dark, overcast lighting and smoke rising from distant fires are used to convey the absolute destruction of war. The dark, earthy greens and browns emphasize the hellish conditions of war, and the inclusion of hard metal vehicles and indistinguishable bodies of soldiers and civilians adds an element of dehumanization and the intended meaning of their lives. This concept not only encompasses the tragedy of war, but also emphasizes its absurd and meaningless nature. Thanks to the use of symbolism and staging in their textsrespective, Heller and Hill both expertly convey their ideas about the harsh and tragic ruthlessness of war, and the absurdity of such an act. The employment of stylistic features such as Heller's symbolism, Hill's camera angle and shots expertly convey, in their respective texts, the tragic absurdity of war. The symbolism is used by Heller to express the military's inability to recognize the corruption in themselves and the absurdity of this neglect. The chocolate covered cotton balls are a symbol that highlights the corruption that resides within the military and its detrimental effects on the soldiers, because although they have no nutritional value, they are forced to be eaten by chef Milo Minderbinder in order to reduce the budget. “They have to swallow it,” Milo orders with dictatorial grandeur underlines how the greed surrounding this act of war blinds those caught up in it, and the tragically absurd mindset with which it corrupts them. In contrast, Hill's use of a low-angle close-up of a pilgrim splattered with another man's blood during the harsh Dresden winter of World War II conveys the cruel tragedy of war. The camera focused on the blood, slightly blurring the pilgrim's face to symbolize the anonymity of soldiers at war, but also the futility of killing strangers in the context of war and risking one's own life to do so. Certainly, through stylistic techniques such as symbolism, camera angles and shots, Heller and Hill, in their respective texts, Catch-22 and Slaughterhouse-Five, brilliantly express their concerns about the act of war, and its senseless tragic. Heller and Hill's use of a wide range of paradoxes and staging further conveys their idea that war is tragically absurd. Most notably, the absurdity of war is highlighted by Heller's use of the paradoxical catch-22 that Dunbar loved clay pigeon shooting because he hated every minute of it and time passed so slowly. This paradox conveys the tragedy of war through humor, as Dumbar wishes to prolong his life through boredom, but also highlights its illogic, as the statement contradicts itself. Hill, in contrast, uses the setting of the planet Tralfamadore, where Pilgrim resides at the end of his life, to directly juxtapose the image of war. Colorful lighting like blues, pinks, yellows, and whites in the sky suggest a place of comfort and refuge, introducing an almost absurd quality to the film given the harsh setting of the preceding scene. The abstract architecture of the house, a dome constructed from triangles of steel and glass, further emphasizes the absurd aspect of the film, as does the random arrangement of furniture in the house, emphasizing the tragic effect that war had on Billy's mind. Clearly, Heller's use of paradox, as well as Hill's use of mise-en-scène, skillfully encapsulate both authors' concerns regarding the tragic circumstances of the war and the absurdity surrounding it. Hill's structure and editing convey the absolute devastation that war can cause. The Catch-22 motif, a paradoxical situation made inevitable by equally opposing conditions, is arguably the most effective technique Heller employs to express the absurd and tragically cruel nature of war, best illustrated in the statement that Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and when he did, he wouldn't be crazy anymore and would have to go on more missions. This motif highlights the satirical anti-war message that Heller intends to convey.