C.I.D. Investigators
Encyclopedia
The C.I.D. Investigators are characters in Joseph Heller
's classic novel Catch-22
.
is in the hospital during the opening of the novel, he is forced to censor
letters written by enlisted men in the same hospital. This soon becomes monotonous and he begins censoring maliciously for pleasure. To these documents that he has ravaged, he signs Washington Irving
or, alternatively, Irving Washington. A C.I.D. man, the military's version of a CIA or FBI agent, disguises himself as a patient and goes undercover in Yossarian's hospital, in order to determine the culprit for the over-zealous censorship.
All the other patients soon know the C.I.D. man's identity as he secretly confides in everyone. He further gives away his special status after he refuses to censor any more letters after doing it for a day. When the other patients are scared away by The Texan and leave hospital, the C.I.D. man remains as he has caught pneumonia
. Yossarian considers this C.I.D. man as "pretty lucky, because outside the hospital the war was still going on".
begins signing documents as Washington Irving, having heard about the C.I.D. man trying to catch the man censoring documents and signing them Washington Irving in the hospital. When Washington Irving grows monotonous, Major Major switches to Irving Washington; later on, he adds his own twist to the device, signing John Milton
and Milton John (observing as he does the comparative brevity of 'John Milton' will increase his signing turnover) before eventually returning to Washington Irving. Eventually, a second C.I.D. man is dispatched, and very soon begin confiding their secret identities to every individual on the base on the condition that they (the individuals) tell no one else. As a result, the situation soon arrives that everyone on the base knows of the presence of two C.I.D. men, with the exception of the C.I.D. men themselves.
Their respective investigations proceed a series of complex mistakes. The second C.I.D. man suspects Sergeant Towser, Major Major's secretary because, in organising a meeting between Major Major and the second C.I.D. man, he glibly revealed the latter's identity, despite the fact that there was little alternative in arranging the meeting. The first C.I.D. man, having witnessed the meeting in question, comes to suspect the second C.I.D. man, and resolves to go undercover in the hospital to observe him. His attempts to be listed as sick fail, until, dejected by his failure, he accidentally falls into a ditch and breaks his nose.
as Yossarian once, during his initial censorship campaign, forged the Chaplain's name following the words, "I yearn for you tragically" on a letter from which he had already censored all text except for the letter's opening: "Dear Mary,".
Joseph Heller
Joseph Heller was a US satirical novelist, short story writer, and playwright. His best known work is Catch-22, a novel about US servicemen during World War II...
's classic novel Catch-22
Catch-22
Catch-22 is a satirical, historical novel by the American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953, and the novel was first published in 1961. It is set during World War II in 1943 and is frequently cited as one of the great literary works of the twentieth century...
.
Overview
While the protagonist YossarianYossarian
This article is about a "Catch-22" character. For the meerkat from "Meerkat Manor", see List of "Meerkat Manor" meerkats - Yossarian.Capt. John Joseph Yossarian is a fictional character and protagonist in Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22 and its sequel Closing Time...
is in the hospital during the opening of the novel, he is forced to censor
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
letters written by enlisted men in the same hospital. This soon becomes monotonous and he begins censoring maliciously for pleasure. To these documents that he has ravaged, he signs Washington Irving
Washington Irving
Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
or, alternatively, Irving Washington. A C.I.D. man, the military's version of a CIA or FBI agent, disguises himself as a patient and goes undercover in Yossarian's hospital, in order to determine the culprit for the over-zealous censorship.
All the other patients soon know the C.I.D. man's identity as he secretly confides in everyone. He further gives away his special status after he refuses to censor any more letters after doing it for a day. When the other patients are scared away by The Texan and leave hospital, the C.I.D. man remains as he has caught pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. Yossarian considers this C.I.D. man as "pretty lucky, because outside the hospital the war was still going on".
Major Major
Later, Major MajorMajor Major Major Major
Major Major Major Major is a fictional character in Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22.-Fictional character biography:He has the surname Major, and at birth his father gave him the first and middle names Major and Major, informing the mother that he had named the boy 'Caleb' in accordance with her wishes...
begins signing documents as Washington Irving, having heard about the C.I.D. man trying to catch the man censoring documents and signing them Washington Irving in the hospital. When Washington Irving grows monotonous, Major Major switches to Irving Washington; later on, he adds his own twist to the device, signing John Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
and Milton John (observing as he does the comparative brevity of 'John Milton' will increase his signing turnover) before eventually returning to Washington Irving. Eventually, a second C.I.D. man is dispatched, and very soon begin confiding their secret identities to every individual on the base on the condition that they (the individuals) tell no one else. As a result, the situation soon arrives that everyone on the base knows of the presence of two C.I.D. men, with the exception of the C.I.D. men themselves.
Their respective investigations proceed a series of complex mistakes. The second C.I.D. man suspects Sergeant Towser, Major Major's secretary because, in organising a meeting between Major Major and the second C.I.D. man, he glibly revealed the latter's identity, despite the fact that there was little alternative in arranging the meeting. The first C.I.D. man, having witnessed the meeting in question, comes to suspect the second C.I.D. man, and resolves to go undercover in the hospital to observe him. His attempts to be listed as sick fail, until, dejected by his failure, he accidentally falls into a ditch and breaks his nose.
The Chaplain
Eventually, the prime suspect in the case turns out (incorrectly) to be Chaplain TappmanChaplain Tappman
Chaplain Captain Albert Taylor Tappman is a fictional character in Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22...
as Yossarian once, during his initial censorship campaign, forged the Chaplain's name following the words, "I yearn for you tragically" on a letter from which he had already censored all text except for the letter's opening: "Dear Mary,".