It doesn't make a damned bit of difference who wins the war to someone who's dead.
Joseph Heller Catch-22
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In the novel "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller, a poignant quote highlights the futility of war: "It doesn't make a damned bit of difference who wins the war to someone who's dead." This statement reflects the grim reality that the consequences of conflict ultimately affect those who lose their lives, rendering the victor irrelevant to them. The message resonates throughout the book, illustrating the absurdity and senselessness of war.

The characters in "Catch-22" grapple with the bureaucratic madness and moral dilemmas of military life, often questioning the purpose of their sacrifices. Heller's work critiques the dehumanizing aspects of war, emphasizing that for the fallen soldiers, the struggles between nations are meaningless. This perspective encourages readers to reflect on the true cost of warfare and the individuals whose lives are lost amidst the chaos.

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Catch-22
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Joseph Heller
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January 27, 2025
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Other quotes in Catch-22

Everyone was always very friendly toward him, and no one was ever very nice; everyone spoke to him, and no one ever said anything.
Joseph Heller Catch-22
Everyone was always very friendly toward him, and no one was ever very nice; everyone spoke to him, and no one ever said anything.
The Texan turned out to be good-natured, generous and likeable. In three days no one could stand him.
Joseph Heller Catch-22
The Texan turned out to be good-natured, generous and likeable. In three days no one could stand him.
It was love at first sight. The first time Yossarian say the chaplain he fell madly in love with him.
Joseph Heller Catch-22
It was love at first sight. The first time Yossarian say the chaplain he fell madly in love with him.
If you run into trouble, just tell everybody that the security of the country requires a strong domestic Egyptian-cotton speculating industry.
Joseph Heller Catch-22
If you run into trouble, just tell everybody that the security of the country requires a strong domestic Egyptian-cotton speculating industry.
His goading remained gentle. Rome was destroyed, Greece was destroyed, Persia was destroyed, Spain was destroyed. All great countries are destroyed. Why not yours? How much longer do you really think your own country will last? Forever? Keep in mind that the earth itself is destined to be destroyed by the sun in twenty-five million years or so.
Joseph Heller Catch-22
His goading remained gentle. Rome was destroyed, Greece was destroyed, Persia was destroyed, Spain was destroyed. All great countries are destroyed. Why not yours? How much longer do you really think your own country will last? Forever? Keep in mind that the earth itself is destined to be destroyed by the sun in twenty-five million years or so.
the full fury of his storming countenance with its rugged overhang of gullied forehead and huge crag of a humpbacked nose that came charging out of his face wrathfully like a Big Ten fullback.
Joseph Heller Catch-22
the full fury of his storming countenance with its rugged overhang of gullied forehead and huge crag of a humpbacked nose that came charging out of his face wrathfully like a Big Ten fullback.
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Other quotes in war

As I explain at some length in my book 'Energy Victory,' during World War II, the American strength in oil production was a decisive advantage for the Allies. Airplanes, ships, and tanks all ran on oil, and we controlled the supply.
Robert Zubrin
As I explain at some length in my book 'Energy Victory,' during World War II, the American strength in oil production was a decisive advantage for the Allies. Airplanes, ships, and tanks all ran on oil, and we controlled the supply.
Vietnam was a country where America was trying to make people stop being communists by dropping things on them from airplanes.
Kurt Vonnegut Breakfast of Champions
Vietnam was a country where America was trying to make people stop being communists by dropping things on them from airplanes.
It was the fact that I didn't want to kill anyone. I wasn't put on this earth to murder my fellow man. I'd grown up with violence - can't you see that? I can't bear it.
John Boyne Stay Where You Are and...
It was the fact that I didn't want to kill anyone. I wasn't put on this earth to murder my fellow man. I'd grown up with violence - can't you see that? I can't bear it.
Civilians seldom understand that soldiers, once impressed into war, will forever take it for the ordinary state of the world, with all else illusion. The former soldier assumes that when time weakens the dream of civilian life and its supports pull away, he will revert to the one state that will always hold his heart. He dreams of war and remembers it in quiet times when he might otherwise devote himself to different things, and he is ruined for the peace. What he has seen is as powerful and mysterious as death itself, and yet he has not died, and he wonders why.
Mark Helprin A Soldier of the Great...
Civilians seldom understand that soldiers, once impressed into war, will forever take it for the ordinary state of the world, with all else illusion. The former soldier assumes that when time weakens the dream of civilian life and its supports pull away, he will revert to the one state that will always hold his heart. He dreams of war and remembers it in quiet times when he might otherwise devote himself to different things, and he is ruined for the peace. What he has seen is as powerful and mysterious as death itself, and yet he has not died, and he wonders why.
Don't worry about me, no matter what happens. We're nervous here, but not afraid. We have all looked into our souls, one way or another, and are content to die if need be. The only thing left to say is that I love you.
Mark Helprin A Soldier of the Great...
Don't worry about me, no matter what happens. We're nervous here, but not afraid. We have all looked into our souls, one way or another, and are content to die if need be. The only thing left to say is that I love you.
We are not one of those who flatter war; When the opportunity arises, we tell him his truths. The war has awful beauties that we have not hidden; She also agreed, some ugly. One of the most surprising is the prompt counting of the dead after victory. The dawn following a battle always rises on bare corpses.
Victor Hugo Les Miserables
We are not one of those who flatter war; When the opportunity arises, we tell him his truths. The war has awful beauties that we have not hidden; She also agreed, some ugly. One of the most surprising is the prompt counting of the dead after victory. The dawn following a battle always rises on bare corpses.
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