A punder in Catch-22

Abstract

Catch-22 tells the story of World War II flier John Yossarian and his fellow lead bombardiers as they attempt to survive the war while living under the shadow of a catch-22. There is a phenomenon in the neurology literature referred to as punding, which is very close in definition to the behaviors described in Heller’s book. The term punding has been used to describe the prolonged and purposeless complex stereotypical motor behaviors of amphetamine abusers. Punding is characterized by an intense fascination with repetitive manipulation of technical or mechanical equipment, the continued handling, examining, and sorting of common objects, grooming, hoarding, abnormally increased writing, and even excessive nonsocially sanctioned dancing. While the novel does not directly address author reasoning, it is implied that Yossarian does not feel he will be effective in stopping the behaviors, and for this reason he chooses not to interfere as Orr continues dismantling and reassembling the faucet. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)