Yossarian
Encyclopedia
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
. In Catch-22, Yossarian is a 28-year-old captain in the 256th squadron of the Army Air Forces
where he serves as a B-25
bombardier
stationed on the small island of Pianosa
off the Italian
mainland during World War II
. Yossarian's exploits are based on the experiences of the author: Heller was also a bombardier in the Air Corps, stationed on an island off the coast of Italy
during World War II.
, his name indicates an Armenian
background. In Closing Time, he is revealed to be an Armenian jokingly posing as an Assyrian.
Yossarian's first name, John, is discovered quite late in the novel, with a throwaway remark by Colonel Korn: "Call me Blackie, John. We're pals now." The movie poster has Yossarian's dog tags listing his first name as "Aram," which is an Armenian name (while Hovhannes is Armenian for John). Later in the novel, a doctor also calls him John. In Closing Time, his first name is used frequently, as the novel has a civilian, rather than a military setting. The exotic name "Yossarian" was chosen by Heller to emphasize his protagonist's detachment from the mainstream military culture. Yossarian's name is described ironically as being "an odious, alien, distasteful name, that just did not inspire confidence." It was "...not at all like such clean, crisp, honest, American names as Cathcart, Peckem and Dreedle."
Moreover, Heller saw the Jewish community of America becoming more integrated and less sidelined by mainstream society, and so decided not to give his protagonist a Jewish name and a Coney Island
background (as Heller himself had). As to the origins of the name itself, "Heller admitted in later years that the name 'Yossarian' was derived from the name of one of his Air Force buddies, Francis Yohannan, but that the character of Yossarian himself was 'the incarnation of a wish' (Now and Then
175-6)."
Yossarian also, like many of the other soldiers, tries to escape the realities of war by getting drunk, gorging himself in the mess hall and having sex, although events in the novel make it easy to believe that he would do these things anyway.
The bulk of Catch-22 concerns Yossarian's relationships with the other officers in his squadron, such as the neurotic Hungry Joe, the war profiteer
Milo
, the idealistic Nately
and selfish Doc Daneeka
. There are many characters that Yossarian hates and likes. His best friends seem to be Dunbar, the Chaplain
, Nately
, Hungry Joe, McWatt and Orr
. There are two characters with whom Yossarian argues but he is greatly saddened when Clevinger and Orr
disappear. He hates the majority of his superiors for continually putting him in harm's way, especially the sadistic Joe McCarthy
-like careerist Captain Black and the egomaniacal Colonel Cathcart
, who continually raises the number of missions required before the aircrews can rotate back home as well as volunteering his aircrews for the most dangerous missions, in an attempt to make himself look good to his superiors.
Yossarian shows particular grief for the men that die during the novel, particularly Snowden, McWatt, Nately
, Dobbs and Hungry Joe or those who appear to disappear; Orr
, Clevinger and Dunbar. His relationship with the enlisted gunner Snowden is vivid and is the emotional center of the book. When Snowden gets injured over Avignon
, it is Yossarian who tries to help him, only to watch him die a revolting death.
and Colonel Korn rather than face a court-martial for going AWOL in Rome
. The deal allows Yossarian to go home but only if he pretends to be "pals" to Colonel Cathcart
and Colonel Korn; to "become one of the boys." Korn explains that this means that the Army is "going to glorify you and send you home a hero, recalled by the Pentagon for morale and public-relations purposes." It allows Yossarian to get out of the war, without any more contribution to the low morale which has been spreading through the Group because of him and to make the colonels look good to their superiors. Yossarian finds this deal "odious" as it lets down all the others in the squadron who were relying on his dissent to force their commanders to treat them better and admits that he did it "in a moment of weakness". Also, when he learns that the "official report" had twisted the event of Nately's whore stabbing him into Yossarian taking a knife wound from a Nazi assassin to protect the colonels, Yossarian begins to resent being manipulated as "part of the deal."
Yossarian’s epiphany comes when he hears of Orr
’s escape to neutral Sweden
, the culmination of Orr's many attempts to escape combat duty (constantly crashing his plane, the prostitute battering him over the head, etc.) which Yossarian had previously interpreted as simply incompetence; Orr had offered hints of this intention in exchanges between the two. At this moment, Yossarian realizes that it is possible to defeat (or at least escape) the military and the Catch-22 that supports it. Yossarian justifies his desertion by stating "I’m not running away from my responsibilities. I’m running to them. There’s nothing negative about running away to save my life."
after his attempts find answers by using logic and reason are thwarted by a combination of vague bureaucracy, transparent yet contradicting Army regulations and personality conflicts. He is unable to fly the required number of missions to be discharged from duty because his superiors keep increasing the number of required missions. Additionally, he cannot obtain a Section 8
by pretending to be insane because his superiors see his desire to get out of flying as a sign of perfect sanity
(hence Catch-22
). Therefore, Yossarian boycott
s flying missions as much as possible, either through feigning illness
or inventing an excuse to return to base (like a busted intercom.) In fact, the novel begins with Yossarian staying in the hospital due to an invented liver
condition. He busies himself by censoring letters — seemingly done arbitrarily — and signing them Washington Irving
, Irving Washington, or (as gets the Chaplain into trouble with authorities) A.T. Tappman, the Chaplain's name (R.O. Shipman in the original version of the book and in British Editions).
Whenever on leave, Yossarian and his friends carouse, drink, and sleep around as much as they can, knowing and fearing they could die on any given mission. One of the prostitutes they employ becomes Nately's unofficial girlfriend (she is referred to only as "Nately's Whore" and "Nately's Girl"). Despite Nately's repeated advances, she spurns him cruelly until he, instead of sleeping with her, lets her get a good night's sleep. By the next morning, she has fallen deeply in love with him. When Nately is killed, she blames Yossarian for his death; she manifests a towering rage and tries to kill Yossarian several times during the remainder of the narrative in an impossible manner (constantly tracking Yossarian down, even after he dumped her hundreds of miles behind enemy territory.)
and a third officer referred to as "The Dead Man" who died before he even got there. Yossarian and Orr, get along very well and Orr customizes the tent making it much more comfortable. After Orr is declared M.I.A.
and presumed dead, four new officers are assigned to the tent, but Yossarian cannot tolerate them. Sergeant Towser offers Yossarian the option of being assigned to same tent that Nately
is, but he refuses to leave.
The roomies call Yossarian "Yo-Yo" and are afraid of him. Because of this, they go out of their way to help him, always offer him the warmest expressions of goodwill, and generally behave with intolerable conviviality. They are rambunctious because of their young age and lack of military experience. They tend to like those who Yossarian hates and fears and do not mind the idea of the increasing missions. "They do what Yossarian and the Air Force were unable to do — get rid of "The Dead Man," Lt. Mudd — simply by throwing all his belongings into the woods."
Eventually Yossarian notices bleeding from Snowden's armpit and realises that he has another wound below his flak suit. As Yossarian rips open the flak suit, a fatal wound beneath exposes Snowden's internal organs which fall out onto the floor. A huge chunk of flak had ripped straight through his ribs from behind. Yossarian is horrified at the sight. Snowden is about to die, but is still just able to tell Yossarian he is cold. Yossarian covers Snowden in a parachute
, and comforts him by saying "there, there".
Snowden's death embodies Yossarian's desire to evade death; by seeing Snowden's entrails spilling over the plane, he feels that "Man was matter, that was Snowden's secret. Drop him out a window and he'll fall. Set fire to him and he'll burn. Bury him and he'll rot, like other kinds of garbage. The spirit gone, man is garbage."
The experience on the plane dramatically changes Yossarian's attitude towards life. He now looks only to protect his own life and, to a lesser extent, the lives of his close friends. Yossarian also turns against the military
after this flight and refuses to wear a uniform
. His justification is that he simply "doesn't want to," perhaps because he was traumatized and depressed by Snowden's death. The excuse Captain Korn gives to General Dreedle is that Snowden died in one uniform, and his remains were soaked into Yossarian's, and all of Yossarian's other articles of clothing were in the laundry. General Dreedle says "That sounds like a lot of crap to me." Yossarian replies, "It is a lot of crap, sir."
to Rome, AWOL to try to save her. He is not able to find her, and ends up walking through the street observing all the horrors that comes with war. Eventually he gets back to the officer’s apartment where Aarfy has just raped and murdered Michaela, but when the MPs come they do not arrest Aarfy, they arrest Yossarian for going AWOL.
Yossarian is then forced by Colonel Cathcart
and Colonel Korn into an odious deal whereby if he acts as their "pal" he will be allowed to go home. The deal is designed so that the rest of the squadron will not believe Yossarian will be sent home because he has "turned into such a stubborn son of a bitch" and refused to fly, but because - being a hero from the Ferrara mission in which he went into the flak zones a second time without support - he is being sent home as a P.R. representative for the Army.
On leaving the colonels, Yossarian is badly injured when Nately’s whore stabs him, and he is rushed to hospital. There he recovers and is visited by the Chaplain
and Major Danby. Major Danby confirms that the deal with the colonels is still on, but Yossarian wishes not to take it as it lets the rest of the squadron down.
While Yossarian is trying to work out how to escape this Catch-22 situation, the Chaplain runs in to announce that the missing Orr
is alive and well, and has rowed his way to neutral Sweden, escaping the war. This gives a new lease on life to the Chaplain and Major Danby, and more so to Yossarian who now sees the genius of Orr’s plans, and makes him determined to immediately escape the war. As Yossarian leaves, Nately’s whore again tries to kill him, but Yossarian jumps out of the way and runs off.
However, Closing Time
hints that the idealistic escape did not really eventuate, with Yossarian saying that when he went home, he was made a major. While Korn and Cathcart are not mentioned, there are implications that perhaps Yossarian took their deal in the end. This reflects more the character of the elderly Yossarian, who by his eighties has become a part of the society he spurned in his youth.
' 1970 film adaptation of the novel
Yossarian was
played by Alan Arkin
.
- Also covered in this article are the characters Snowden and Yossarian's tentmates.
Capt. John Joseph Yossarian is a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
and protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
in Joseph Heller
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 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...
and its sequel Closing Time
Closing Time (novel)
Closing Time is a 1994 novel by Joseph Heller, written as a sequel to the popular Catch-22. It takes place in New York City in the 1990s, and revisits some characters of the original, including Yossarian, Milo Minderbinder and Chaplain Tappman....
. In Catch-22, Yossarian is a 28-year-old captain in the 256th squadron of the Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
where he serves as a B-25
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
bombardier
Bombardier (air force)
A bombardier , in the United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force, or a bomb aimer, in the Royal Air Force and other Commonwealth air forces, was the crewman of a bomber responsible for assisting the navigator in guiding the plane to a bombing target and releasing the aircraft's bomb...
stationed on the small island of Pianosa
Pianosa
The small island of Pianosa , about in area, forms part of Italy's Tuscan Archipelago. Its name comes from the Italian pianura . Its highest point stands above sea level. Pianosa is part of the Elba island municipality. On clear days, Elbans see Pianosa as a dark blue line over the lighter blue sea...
off the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
mainland during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Yossarian's exploits are based on the experiences of the author: Heller was also a bombardier in the Air Corps, stationed on an island off the coast of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
during World War II.
Name
Although he claims to be AssyrianAssyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
, his name indicates an Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
background. In Closing Time, he is revealed to be an Armenian jokingly posing as an Assyrian.
Yossarian's first name, John, is discovered quite late in the novel, with a throwaway remark by Colonel Korn: "Call me Blackie, John. We're pals now." The movie poster has Yossarian's dog tags listing his first name as "Aram," which is an Armenian name (while Hovhannes is Armenian for John). Later in the novel, a doctor also calls him John. In Closing Time, his first name is used frequently, as the novel has a civilian, rather than a military setting. The exotic name "Yossarian" was chosen by Heller to emphasize his protagonist's detachment from the mainstream military culture. Yossarian's name is described ironically as being "an odious, alien, distasteful name, that just did not inspire confidence." It was "...not at all like such clean, crisp, honest, American names as Cathcart, Peckem and Dreedle."
Moreover, Heller saw the Jewish community of America becoming more integrated and less sidelined by mainstream society, and so decided not to give his protagonist a Jewish name and a Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
background (as Heller himself had). As to the origins of the name itself, "Heller admitted in later years that the name 'Yossarian' was derived from the name of one of his Air Force buddies, Francis Yohannan, but that the character of Yossarian himself was 'the incarnation of a wish' (Now and Then
Now and Then (Joseph Heller book)
Now and Then is Joseph Heller's 1998 memoir. The first half of the memoir focuses on Heller's childhood in Coney Island and is, in fact, as much about the place as it is about the man...
175-6)."
Motivation
Throughout the novel, Yossarian's main concern is the idea that people are trying to kill him, either directly (by attacking his plane) or indirectly (by forcing him to fly missions), and he goes to great lengths to stay alive.Goal(s)
Yossarian's motivation is to "live forever or die in the attempt". In order to survive the war, Yossarian employs a number of strategies:- Postponing dangerous missions by any means possible (e.g. poisoning the squadron and moving the bomb line during the “Great Big Siege of BolognaBolognaBologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
”). - Constantly checking into the hospital with contrived liver complaints ("a pain in his liver that fell just short of being jaundice"), including the fictitious "Garnett-Fleischaker syndrome" and by exploiting the fact that he always runs a temperature of 101 degrees.
- Ordering his pilot to perform harsh evasive action in the face of flak, something that he will not trust anyone else to do.
- "Plotting an emergency heading into SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
" so that he can be interned for the duration of the war "under conditions of utmost ease and luxury."
Yossarian also, like many of the other soldiers, tries to escape the realities of war by getting drunk, gorging himself in the mess hall and having sex, although events in the novel make it easy to believe that he would do these things anyway.
Relationships and conflicts
Yossarian is in continual conflict with Catch-22, a vague military policy which his superiors use to justify many of their illogical demands.The bulk of Catch-22 concerns Yossarian's relationships with the other officers in his squadron, such as the neurotic Hungry Joe, the war profiteer
War profiteering
A war profiteer is any person or organization that profits from warfare or by selling weapons and other goods to parties at war. The term has strong negative connotations. General profiteering may also occur in peace time.-International arms dealers:...
Milo
Milo Minderbinder
First Lieutenant Milo Minderbinder is a fictional character in Joseph Heller's most successful novel, Catch-22. As the mess officer of Yossarian's squadron, Minderbinder is a war profiteer during World War II, "perhaps the best known of all fictional profiteers" in American literature...
, the idealistic Nately
Nately
-Background information:Nately starts off the book as a 19-year-old lieutenant, who will be "twenty next January" and who came from a very rich and respected family...
and selfish Doc Daneeka
Doc Daneeka
Doc Daneeka is a fictional character in the novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller.Doc Daneeka is the squadron physician and a friend of the novel's protagonist, Yossarian. "Catch-22" itself is first explained in the novel when Yossarian asks Doc Daneeka to excuse him from combat duty...
. There are many characters that Yossarian hates and likes. His best friends seem to be Dunbar, the Chaplain
Chaplain Tappman
Chaplain Captain Albert Taylor Tappman is a fictional character in Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22...
, Nately
Nately
-Background information:Nately starts off the book as a 19-year-old lieutenant, who will be "twenty next January" and who came from a very rich and respected family...
, Hungry Joe, McWatt and Orr
Orr (Catch-22)
Orr is a fictional character in the classic novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Orr is a bomber pilot in the squadron who is continually being shot down and having to crash land in the sea...
. There are two characters with whom Yossarian argues but he is greatly saddened when Clevinger and Orr
Orr (Catch-22)
Orr is a fictional character in the classic novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Orr is a bomber pilot in the squadron who is continually being shot down and having to crash land in the sea...
disappear. He hates the majority of his superiors for continually putting him in harm's way, especially the sadistic Joe McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957...
-like careerist Captain Black and the egomaniacal Colonel Cathcart
Colonel Cathcart
Colonel Cathcart is a character in Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22.A full colonel, he is a group commander at a U.S. Army Air Corps base in Pianosa and is obsessed with becoming a general...
, who continually raises the number of missions required before the aircrews can rotate back home as well as volunteering his aircrews for the most dangerous missions, in an attempt to make himself look good to his superiors.
Yossarian shows particular grief for the men that die during the novel, particularly Snowden, McWatt, Nately
Nately
-Background information:Nately starts off the book as a 19-year-old lieutenant, who will be "twenty next January" and who came from a very rich and respected family...
, Dobbs and Hungry Joe or those who appear to disappear; Orr
Orr (Catch-22)
Orr is a fictional character in the classic novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Orr is a bomber pilot in the squadron who is continually being shot down and having to crash land in the sea...
, Clevinger and Dunbar. His relationship with the enlisted gunner Snowden is vivid and is the emotional center of the book. When Snowden gets injured over Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
, it is Yossarian who tries to help him, only to watch him die a revolting death.
Epiphany
At the end of the novel, Yossarian accepts a deal with Colonel CathcartColonel Cathcart
Colonel Cathcart is a character in Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22.A full colonel, he is a group commander at a U.S. Army Air Corps base in Pianosa and is obsessed with becoming a general...
and Colonel Korn rather than face a court-martial for going AWOL in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. The deal allows Yossarian to go home but only if he pretends to be "pals" to Colonel Cathcart
Colonel Cathcart
Colonel Cathcart is a character in Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22.A full colonel, he is a group commander at a U.S. Army Air Corps base in Pianosa and is obsessed with becoming a general...
and Colonel Korn; to "become one of the boys." Korn explains that this means that the Army is "going to glorify you and send you home a hero, recalled by the Pentagon for morale and public-relations purposes." It allows Yossarian to get out of the war, without any more contribution to the low morale which has been spreading through the Group because of him and to make the colonels look good to their superiors. Yossarian finds this deal "odious" as it lets down all the others in the squadron who were relying on his dissent to force their commanders to treat them better and admits that he did it "in a moment of weakness". Also, when he learns that the "official report" had twisted the event of Nately's whore stabbing him into Yossarian taking a knife wound from a Nazi assassin to protect the colonels, Yossarian begins to resent being manipulated as "part of the deal."
Yossarian’s epiphany comes when he hears of Orr
Orr (Catch-22)
Orr is a fictional character in the classic novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Orr is a bomber pilot in the squadron who is continually being shot down and having to crash land in the sea...
’s escape to neutral Sweden
Sweden during World War II
Sweden during World War II maintained a policy of neutrality. When the Second World War began on September 1, 1939, the fate of Sweden was unclear...
, the culmination of Orr's many attempts to escape combat duty (constantly crashing his plane, the prostitute battering him over the head, etc.) which Yossarian had previously interpreted as simply incompetence; Orr had offered hints of this intention in exchanges between the two. At this moment, Yossarian realizes that it is possible to defeat (or at least escape) the military and the Catch-22 that supports it. Yossarian justifies his desertion by stating "I’m not running away from my responsibilities. I’m running to them. There’s nothing negative about running away to save my life."
Timeline in Catch-22
Yossarian features to some extent in all but two of the forty-two chapters of the novel but due to the skewed timeline it is often not clear which events follow which. A timeline has been developed by CS Bruhans Jr http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0041-462X%28197310%2919%3A4%3C239%3ASATSSP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-H, whereby the main plot follows the actions of Yossarian:- 1943, Yossarian sent overseas, Splendid Atabrine Insurrection
- September 1943, required number of missions for tour of duty is 25, Colonel Nevers dies on ArezzoArezzoArezzo is a city and comune in Central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 km southeast of Florence, at an elevation of 296 m above sea level. In 2011 the population was about 100,000....
mission - September 1943, arrival of Colonel CathcartColonel CathcartColonel Cathcart is a character in Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22.A full colonel, he is a group commander at a U.S. Army Air Corps base in Pianosa and is obsessed with becoming a general...
, required missions raised to 30 - April 1944, setup of M & M Enterprises by MiloMilo MinderbinderFirst Lieutenant Milo Minderbinder is a fictional character in Joseph Heller's most successful novel, Catch-22. As the mess officer of Yossarian's squadron, Minderbinder is a war profiteer during World War II, "perhaps the best known of all fictional profiteers" in American literature...
, death of Mudd on OrvietoOrvietoOrvieto is a city and comune in Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff...
mission - May 1944, required missions raised to 35
- May 1944, death of Kraft and Coombs on FerraraFerraraFerrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
mission, first poisoning of mess - May 1944, bombing of squadron by Milo
- May 1944, Great Big Siege of BolognaBolognaBologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, second poisoning of mess, required missions raised to 40 - June 1944, fall of RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
- June 1944, first AvignonAvignonAvignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
mission, death of Snowden - June 1944, Yossarian naked at Snowden’s funeral and medal for bravery on Ferrara mission
- June 1944, Clevinger disappears in cloud
- July 1944, required missions raised to 45, Yossarian admitted to hospital (Beginning of book)
- July 1944, Yossarian leaves hospital, required missions raised to 50
- August 1944, missions raised to 55
- August 1944, Yossarian tries to punch Colonel CathcartColonel CathcartColonel Cathcart is a character in Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22.A full colonel, he is a group commander at a U.S. Army Air Corps base in Pianosa and is obsessed with becoming a general...
in officer’s club - August 1944, fall of ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, missions raised to 60 - September 1944, Yossarian wounded over LivornoLivornoLivorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...
- September 1944, second Avignon mission
- September 1944, Bologna mission, OrrOrr (Catch-22)Orr is a fictional character in the classic novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Orr is a bomber pilot in the squadron who is continually being shot down and having to crash land in the sea...
shot down and disappears - September 1944, Scheisskopf joins General Peckem’s command
- September 1944, raid on small Italian village, dissent by Dunbar
- September 1944, death of Kid Sampson and McWatt, missions raised to 65
- October 1944, missions raised to 70
- October 1944, Yossarian’s new roommates
- November 1944, Yossarian breaks Nately’s nose on Thanksgiving Day, Dunbar is "disappeared"
- November 1944, Chief White Halfoat dies
- December 1944, missions raised to 80, Dobbs and Nately killed on La SpeziaLa SpeziaLa Spezia , at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the Liguria region of northern Italy, is the capital city of the province of La Spezia. Located between Genoa and Pisa on the Ligurian Sea, it is one of the main Italian military and commercial harbours and hosts one of Italy's biggest military...
mission - December 1944, General Peckem becomes wing commander under General Scheisskopf
- December 1944, Yossarian with 71 missions refuses to fly any more
- December 1944, Yossarian knifed by Nately's Whore, Hungry Joe dies, Orr escapes to SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Yossarian deserts
Actions in "Catch-22"
Throughout the book, Yossarian's main concern is the idea that people are trying to kill him, either directly (by attacking his plane) or indirectly (by forcing him to fly missions). His suspicion develops into paranoiaParanoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
after his attempts find answers by using logic and reason are thwarted by a combination of vague bureaucracy, transparent yet contradicting Army regulations and personality conflicts. He is unable to fly the required number of missions to be discharged from duty because his superiors keep increasing the number of required missions. Additionally, he cannot obtain a Section 8
Section 8 (military)
The term Section 8 refers to a category of discharge from the United States military for reason of being mentally unfit for service. It also came to mean any serviceperson given such a discharge or behaving as if deserving such a discharge...
by pretending to be insane because his superiors see his desire to get out of flying as a sign of perfect sanity
Sanity
Sanity refers to the soundness, rationality and healthiness of the human mind, as opposed to insanity. A person is sane if they are rational...
(hence Catch-22
Catch-22 (logic)
A Catch-22, coined by Joseph Heller in his novel Catch-22, is a logical paradox arising from a situation in which an individual needs something that can only be acquired with an action that will lead him to that very situation he is already in; therefore, the acquisition of this thing becomes...
). Therefore, Yossarian boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
s flying missions as much as possible, either through feigning illness
Malingering
Malingering is a medical term that refers to fabricating or exaggerating the symptoms of mental or physical disorders for a variety of "secondary gain" motives, which may include financial compensation ; avoiding school, work or military service; obtaining drugs; getting lighter criminal sentences;...
or inventing an excuse to return to base (like a busted intercom.) In fact, the novel begins with Yossarian staying in the hospital due to an invented liver
Liver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
condition. He busies himself by censoring letters — seemingly done arbitrarily — and signing them 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...
, Irving Washington, or (as gets the Chaplain into trouble with authorities) A.T. Tappman, the Chaplain's name (R.O. Shipman in the original version of the book and in British Editions).
Whenever on leave, Yossarian and his friends carouse, drink, and sleep around as much as they can, knowing and fearing they could die on any given mission. One of the prostitutes they employ becomes Nately's unofficial girlfriend (she is referred to only as "Nately's Whore" and "Nately's Girl"). Despite Nately's repeated advances, she spurns him cruelly until he, instead of sleeping with her, lets her get a good night's sleep. By the next morning, she has fallen deeply in love with him. When Nately is killed, she blames Yossarian for his death; she manifests a towering rage and tries to kill Yossarian several times during the remainder of the narrative in an impossible manner (constantly tracking Yossarian down, even after he dumped her hundreds of miles behind enemy territory.)
Yossarian's tentmates
The squadron houses its soldiers in large tents. At the start of the novel Yossarian is assigned to a tent with OrrOrr (Catch-22)
Orr is a fictional character in the classic novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Orr is a bomber pilot in the squadron who is continually being shot down and having to crash land in the sea...
and a third officer referred to as "The Dead Man" who died before he even got there. Yossarian and Orr, get along very well and Orr customizes the tent making it much more comfortable. After Orr is declared M.I.A.
Missing in action
Missing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...
and presumed dead, four new officers are assigned to the tent, but Yossarian cannot tolerate them. Sergeant Towser offers Yossarian the option of being assigned to same tent that Nately
Nately
-Background information:Nately starts off the book as a 19-year-old lieutenant, who will be "twenty next January" and who came from a very rich and respected family...
is, but he refuses to leave.
The roomies call Yossarian "Yo-Yo" and are afraid of him. Because of this, they go out of their way to help him, always offer him the warmest expressions of goodwill, and generally behave with intolerable conviviality. They are rambunctious because of their young age and lack of military experience. They tend to like those who Yossarian hates and fears and do not mind the idea of the increasing missions. "They do what Yossarian and the Air Force were unable to do — get rid of "The Dead Man," Lt. Mudd — simply by throwing all his belongings into the woods."
Snowden
Snowden is a member of Yossarian's flight during a mission, and acts as catalyst for the fundamental change in Yossarian's mentality and outlook. After their plane takes heavy anti-aircraft fire, Snowden is mortally wounded and it is Yossarian who attempts to come to Snowden's aid by treating a serious leg wound with white bandages and sulfanilamide powder.Eventually Yossarian notices bleeding from Snowden's armpit and realises that he has another wound below his flak suit. As Yossarian rips open the flak suit, a fatal wound beneath exposes Snowden's internal organs which fall out onto the floor. A huge chunk of flak had ripped straight through his ribs from behind. Yossarian is horrified at the sight. Snowden is about to die, but is still just able to tell Yossarian he is cold. Yossarian covers Snowden in a parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
, and comforts him by saying "there, there".
Snowden's death embodies Yossarian's desire to evade death; by seeing Snowden's entrails spilling over the plane, he feels that "Man was matter, that was Snowden's secret. Drop him out a window and he'll fall. Set fire to him and he'll burn. Bury him and he'll rot, like other kinds of garbage. The spirit gone, man is garbage."
The experience on the plane dramatically changes Yossarian's attitude towards life. He now looks only to protect his own life and, to a lesser extent, the lives of his close friends. Yossarian also turns against the military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
after this flight and refuses to wear a uniform
Uniform
A uniform is a set of standard clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, security guards, in some workplaces and schools and by inmates...
. His justification is that he simply "doesn't want to," perhaps because he was traumatized and depressed by Snowden's death. The excuse Captain Korn gives to General Dreedle is that Snowden died in one uniform, and his remains were soaked into Yossarian's, and all of Yossarian's other articles of clothing were in the laundry. General Dreedle says "That sounds like a lot of crap to me." Yossarian replies, "It is a lot of crap, sir."
Finale
By end of the book, just about every other member of his squadron has been killed, disappeared, gone AWOL or otherwise removed. When Yossarian learns from Captain Black that Nately’s Whore’s kid sister has been evicted by the Military Police, he flies with MiloMilo Minderbinder
First Lieutenant Milo Minderbinder is a fictional character in Joseph Heller's most successful novel, Catch-22. As the mess officer of Yossarian's squadron, Minderbinder is a war profiteer during World War II, "perhaps the best known of all fictional profiteers" in American literature...
to Rome, AWOL to try to save her. He is not able to find her, and ends up walking through the street observing all the horrors that comes with war. Eventually he gets back to the officer’s apartment where Aarfy has just raped and murdered Michaela, but when the MPs come they do not arrest Aarfy, they arrest Yossarian for going AWOL.
Yossarian is then forced by Colonel Cathcart
Colonel Cathcart
Colonel Cathcart is a character in Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22.A full colonel, he is a group commander at a U.S. Army Air Corps base in Pianosa and is obsessed with becoming a general...
and Colonel Korn into an odious deal whereby if he acts as their "pal" he will be allowed to go home. The deal is designed so that the rest of the squadron will not believe Yossarian will be sent home because he has "turned into such a stubborn son of a bitch" and refused to fly, but because - being a hero from the Ferrara mission in which he went into the flak zones a second time without support - he is being sent home as a P.R. representative for the Army.
On leaving the colonels, Yossarian is badly injured when Nately’s whore stabs him, and he is rushed to hospital. There he recovers and is visited by the Chaplain
Chaplain Tappman
Chaplain Captain Albert Taylor Tappman is a fictional character in Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22...
and Major Danby. Major Danby confirms that the deal with the colonels is still on, but Yossarian wishes not to take it as it lets the rest of the squadron down.
While Yossarian is trying to work out how to escape this Catch-22 situation, the Chaplain runs in to announce that the missing Orr
Orr (Catch-22)
Orr is a fictional character in the classic novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Orr is a bomber pilot in the squadron who is continually being shot down and having to crash land in the sea...
is alive and well, and has rowed his way to neutral Sweden, escaping the war. This gives a new lease on life to the Chaplain and Major Danby, and more so to Yossarian who now sees the genius of Orr’s plans, and makes him determined to immediately escape the war. As Yossarian leaves, Nately’s whore again tries to kill him, but Yossarian jumps out of the way and runs off.
However, Closing Time
Closing Time (novel)
Closing Time is a 1994 novel by Joseph Heller, written as a sequel to the popular Catch-22. It takes place in New York City in the 1990s, and revisits some characters of the original, including Yossarian, Milo Minderbinder and Chaplain Tappman....
hints that the idealistic escape did not really eventuate, with Yossarian saying that when he went home, he was made a major. While Korn and Cathcart are not mentioned, there are implications that perhaps Yossarian took their deal in the end. This reflects more the character of the elderly Yossarian, who by his eighties has become a part of the society he spurned in his youth.
Major motifs
Major motifs include:- Sanity vs. insanity
- The individual vs. society
- Heroes and heroism
- Absurdity
- Paranoia
- Language and meaning
- The inefficacy of bureaucracy
Film portrait
In Mike NicholsMike Nichols
Mike Nichols is a German-born American television, stage and film director, writer, producer and comedian. He began his career in the 1950s as one half of the comedy duo Nichols and May, along with Elaine May. In 1968 he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film The Graduate...
' 1970 film adaptation of the novel
Catch-22 (film)
Catch-22 is a 1970 satirical war film adapted from the book of the same name by Joseph Heller. Considered a black comedy revolving around the "lunatic characters" of Heller's satirical anti-war novel, it was the work of a talented production team which included director Mike Nichols and...
Yossarian was
played by Alan Arkin
Alan Arkin
Alan Wolf Arkin is an American actor, director, musician and singer. He is known for starring in such films as Wait Until Dark, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Catch-22, The In-Laws, Edward Scissorhands, Glengarry Glen Ross, Marley & Me, and...
.