Catch-22

by Joseph Heller

Catch-22: Setting 1 key example

Definition of Setting

Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Setting
Explanation and Analysis:

Much of Catch-22 takes place on Pianosa, a small island off the west coast of Italy in the Mediterranean Sea. It is in the Tuscan Archipelago, near the larger island of Elba, about 50 miles from the mainland. In real life, the island is only about four square miles, with no permanent settlements. Heller noted in the book's foreword that his version of Pianosa is much too small to accommodate everything that happens in the book. He acknowledges that the book contains an entirely fictionalized version of the island.