Essay n. 2: Classic Argument People fear what they don't know or understand. Insanity or insanity can be defined as severe mental illness or abnormal behavior. It can mean that you are unable to conform to society or that you are simply stupid. Each definition of the word, however, pertains to some deficiency in the relationship with oneself or with the world. If a man cannot get along with people in the world because he does not operate according to the same set of logical principles, moral precepts, or social graces accepted by the society around him, that society may consider him crazy. When people assume that someone is crazy, they begin to categorize them into groups and limit some of their freedoms. This is illustrated in several books and films that describe how people are inhibited from doing what they want. In Joseph Heller's book Catch-22, Yossarian and several of his companions are indirectly characterized as insane members of the US Air Force. Yossarian is labeled crazy by his companions because he repeatedly fakes illness to stay in the hospital and takes wild evasive actions on every mission to avoid danger. Yet, by some standards, he is sane because he is trying to stay alive despite his occupation as a soldier. Technical definitions aside, men use the term "crazy" to describe the world around them because war is unusual, unnatural, and cruel. In a way they react with disbelief that they have to go about their daily lives facing death and dangerous danger. Paranoia and extreme fits of anger usually characterize a person who is unfit to get along with his surroundings, but even calm nonchalance in the midst of destruction and death can be seen as disturbing or perverse behavior. Few characters in Catch-22 are treated unfairly or less seriously, because the airmen treat each other as if