Negation as a stylistic feature in Joseph Heller's Catch-22: a corpus study

The present article is a corpus based study of negation as a stylistic feature in the novel Catch-22, by Joseph Heller. The frequency and distribution of types of negation in this novel is compared to the frequency and distribution of negation in two corpora, the sections of general fiction in LOB and Brown, and a sample of conversation from Tottie. The frequency of negative words is calculated and compared in the three corpora of fiction, followed by the calculation and comparison of the frequency of negative clause types in a sample from Catch-22, a sample from Brown, and Tottie's sample of conversation. Results show that the overall frequency of negative words is higher in Catch-22 than in the other corpora of fiction. With regard to the types of negative clause, an initial analysis is carried out applying Tottie's classification. Results show a much higher frequency of implicit denials in the samples of fiction than in the sample of conversation. A new subclassification of denials is proposed in order to account for relevant discourse functions of negation in fictional discourse. The most significant finding in the analysis of these categories is the presence of what I have termed as reversal, which occurs in Catch-22 but not in the Brown sample. The concluding argument is that negation is a salient feature in Catch-22 not only because of the high frequency of negative words in the novel, but because of the role played by reversals in the novel.