Character analysis is one of the most common assignments for Catch-22, and it is easy to see why. The cast is enormous, vivid, and deliberately exaggerated, from Milo Minderbinder and his syndicate to Colonel Cathcart and his ever-rising mission count. Students have plenty to say about them, which is both the appeal and the problem.

The typical character essay starts with a description of the person and ends with a retelling of what they did. Somewhere in the middle there is usually a sentence about how the character is symbolic, but it is rarely developed. Feedback needs to help students move past the biography and into interpretation.

This is especially important in a novel where characters function almost like arguments. Milo is a study in how profit logic can swallow every other value. Cathcart shows what ambition looks like when it costs other people their lives.

When students see characters that way, their essays get sharper. The question is how to get them there without writing their thesis for them.

Ask What the Character Is For

One of the best questions you can put in a margin is a simple one: what is this character doing in the novel that no one else does? It pushes students to think about function instead of description. A student who answers that Major Major shows how institutions can make a man invisible has already moved into analysis.

• Does the essay explain what the character represents, not just what they do?
• Is the evidence drawn from specific moments and language?
• Does the student address how Heller shapes the character through exaggeration or irony?
• Is there a link between the character and a larger theme?
• Does the essay show change or contrast, where the novel does?

Push for Comparison

Comparison is one of the most reliable ways to raise the quality of character essays. Asking students to pair Milo with Cathcart, or Yossarian with Orr, forces them to identify differences and articulate what those differences reveal. Even a modest comparison adds structure and depth.

Yossarian and Orr make a particularly good pair. One protests loudly and fails to escape, while the other quietly plans and succeeds. Students who explore that contrast often end up with a surprising and thoughtful argument about what survival requires in the world of the novel.

Watch for Modern Labels

Students sometimes apply contemporary labels to characters, calling one a narcissist or another a sociopath. These can be interesting starting points but tend to replace analysis with diagnosis. A useful comment redirects them to the text and asks what Heller's language and situation reveal.

It also helps to remind students that these characters are satirical constructions. They are not meant to be realistic portraits, and treating them as such can lead to shallow readings. Ask what the exaggeration is exposing.

Giving This Feedback at Scale

Character essays across a whole grade level can pile up fast, and the comments tend to repeat: more analysis, less summary, tie it to a theme. GraideMind can draft rubric-aligned comments that reference the specific characters and passages each student wrote about. Teachers then review and add the observations only they can make.

Whatever your process, aim for one concrete next step per essay. A student who leaves with a clear idea of how to strengthen their next character analysis will do more with it than one who receives a page of general praise and criticism.