Catch-22 and My antonia... character comparison

Perhaps the most directly conflicting characters in Catch-22 and in My Antonia are Colonel Cathcart and Antonia. Both of these characters are ambitious and each sees a road that runs ahead toward something called “success” or “wealth”, but the roads that they see are constructed differently. Colonel Cathcart’s road is paved with “feathers in his cap” and it is not cratered with “black eyes.” Antonia’s road is paved with the results of hard …

…life that could not be more different. Colonel Cathcart’s road is all about appearances with no regard for substance, while Antonia’s road is so unconcerned with appearances that she allows the local photographer to display her illegitimate baby’s picture in his shop window. Antonia’s road is clearly the superior one; she becomes the strong mother of a large loving family. We can only imagine where Colonel Cathcart’s road will lead.