"But that was war. Just about all he could find in its favor was that it paid well and liberated children from the pernicious influence of their parents"

Joseph Heller’s observation about war, stripped of sentimentality, distills the experience to its barest, most cynical elements. The phrase underscores a deep disillusionment: war, seen through the protagonist’s eyes, is devoid of glory, heroism, or transformative meaning. Its only redeeming qualities are material, good pay, and the brutal logic that it pries young people away from the “pernicious influence” of their parents. Here, the word “pernicious” is rich with irony; parents are typically thought of as guiding forces, but Heller tilts the convention, hinting at the possibility that society, families, and older generations pass down toxic beliefs and expectations, perpetuating the cycle of violence and absurdity.

War is thus presented as a transactional affair, a grim business venture in which personal gain, money, is straightforward but hollow. The “well-paid” aspect dismisses any loftier purpose, reducing the motives of those involved to mere economic necessity or avarice. This sidesteps all patriotic or noble pretensions that are so often propagated in times of conflict. Furthermore, the “liberation” of children is not a positive emancipation, but a sardonic remark on the violence that severs generational ties, shattering the structure supposed to protect youth from harm.

Embedded in this passage is a broader social critique: the systems that mold children, parents, educational authorities, governments, are suspect, their influences possibly more damaging than the chaos of war itself. Yet, war’s “liberation” is not salvation but another form of destruction, uprooting individuals and exposing them to trauma and loss under the pretense of freedom. The combination of cynicism, irony, and understated tragedy typifies Heller’s broader literary strategy, illuminating the moral absurdity of war while refusing to let the reader settle for easy answers or simplistic ideological comforts. The passage suppresses sentimental illusions, confronting the reader with the uncomfortable realities that society frequently evades.