Previous
Mood
Definition of Oxymoron
An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two contradictory terms or ideas are intentionally paired in order to make a point—particularly to reveal a deeper or hidden truth... read full definition
An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two contradictory terms or ideas are intentionally paired in order to make a point—particularly to reveal... read full definition
An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two contradictory terms or ideas are intentionally paired in order to... read full definition
Chapter 19: Colonel Cathcart
Explanation and Analysis—Conceited, Dejected:
The narrator describes Colonel Cathcart, probably the most reprehensible of the many distasteful military leaders in the novel, rarely in the novel. This, from Chapter 19, is one of the fullest descriptions of him. Like many of Heller's descriptions, it is self-contradictory:
Colonel Cathcart was conceited because he was a full colonel with a combat command at the age of only thirty-six; and Colonel Cathcart was dejected because although he was already thirty-six he was still only a full colonel.
Related Themes:
