Although many authors have written comedies and tragedies, fewer authors ventured into combining comedy and tragedy to create a masterpiece - a classic work. Using their unique style and structure, Jonathan Swift and Joseph Heller managed to interlay comedy and tragedy. Although their works were published years apart, they have one similarity - they depict the insanity of the people. "A Modest Proposal- is a satirical essay written by Jonathan Swift depicting the horrific conditions of Ireland and the lives of the Irish people in 1729. Swift proposes that since there are too many babies, the babies should be eaten. Catch 22 is about a US bombardier, Yossarian, who sees himself as a powerless man in an overpoweringly insane situation. In "The Crucible-, Miller uses puritans as paragons for hypocrisy, as they live by a set of ethics that many do not follow. "The Crucible- portrays similar ideas as Catch 22, but they differ in styles of writing. Both "A Modest Proposal- and Catch 22 are works are satires, which expose injustice or societal flaws in a comical way. Similarly, by combining comedy, tragedy, and terror, Joseph Heller portrays the murderous insanity of war and a society gone mad. .
Heller's novel, Catch 22, is a satire on the murderous insanity of war, and the reality of war, while "A Modest Proposal- is a satirical essay on the insanity of religions and the Irish nation. Heller's characters are not fighting the enemy, they are fighting among themselves. The term "Catch 22- shows the insanity of war. Catch-22 is a logical infallibility that makes one follow in endless circles of nonsense. Sane becomes arguable and life becomes meaningless when regarded through a catch-22. This bureaucratic trap is accepted by nave soldiers. This is why the military is able to make the soldiers do whatever them want to do. The characters are persuaded to believe in the system rather than to oppose it.