List of Catch-22 characters

Yossarian
Further information: Yossarian
Captain John Yossarian is a fictional character in Joseph Heller's
novel Catch-22 and its sequel Closing Time, and the protagonist of
both books. In Catch-22, Yossarian is a 28-year-old Captain and B-25
bombardier in the 256th Bombardment Squadron of the Army Air Corps,
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.
Chaplain Tappman
Further information: Chaplain A. T. Tappman
Tappman is a naïve Anabaptist minister from Kenosha, Wisconsin, who is
tormented throughout the novel by his rude, manipulative atheist
assistant, Corporal Whitcomb. Easily intimidated by the cruelty of
others, the chaplain is a kind, gentle and sensitive man who worries
constantly about his wife and children at home.
Colonel Cathcart
Further information: Colonel Cathcart
A full colonel, Chuck Cathcart is a group commander at the U.S. Army
Air Corps base in Pianosa and is obsessed with becoming a general. As
such, he does whatever it takes to please his superiors, in
particular, by repeatedly raising the number of missions the men have
to fly to complete a tour of duty beyond that normally required by
other outfits. This becomes the bane of Yossarian's life, as every
time he comes close to obtaining the target number of missions for
being sent home, Colonel Cathcart raises the number again.
Doctor Daneeka
Further information: Doc Daneeka
Dr. Dan Daneeka is the squadron flight surgeon and a friend of the
novel's protagonist, Yossarian. Doc Daneeka's main motivation is for
his own welfare, whether that be making money or protecting his own
life. He generally forgets his moral duty as a physician except in the
most extreme of circumstances. Doc Daneeka feels the military is
responsible for him being drafted into the war effort and putting him
in harm's way, because they were distrustful of him when he lied on
his drafting papers about his health. He is constantly scared of
upsetting his superiors who may see fit to then ship him off to the
far more dangerous South Pacific. Already he sees it as military
cruelty to have been assigned to the Air Corps even though he is
scared of flying.
Milo Minderbinder
Further information: Milo Minderbinder
First Lieutenant Milo Minderbinder is the mess officer at the U.S.
Army Air Corps base and he becomes obsessed with expanding mess
operations and trading goods for the profits of the syndicate (in
which he and everyone else "has a share"). Milo is a satire of the
modern businessman, and beyond that is the living representation of
capitalism, as he has no allegiance to any country, person or
principle unless it pays him and profit is generated. Milo even begins
contracting missions for the Germans, fighting on both sides in the
battle at Orvieto and bombing his own squadron.
Lieutenant Nately
Further information: Nately
Nately's family originally enlisted him to serve in the Air Corps,
believing the war would be over by the time he finished his training
and that he would mingle with "gentlemen." Therefore, Nately could
gain the pride of enlisting without actually having to fight. Instead,
he mingled with Yossarian and Dunbar, and was sent overseas. He lives
in a tent with McWatt next to Havermeyer's tent. His most notable
contribution in the book is his involvement with a whore, "Nately's
Whore," who is for the most part uninterested in him until he saves
her from a sleepless night with generals and so she gets an
opportunity to get some sleep. He is often filled with American
optimism, shown by his desire to marry his whore and send her kid
sister to a respected college in the United States. He is killed on a
mission when Dobbs flies his plane into Nately's. Nately's Whore
blames Yossarian and spends the rest of the book trying to murder him.
Lieutenant Scheisskopf
Further information: Scheisskopf
Scheisskopf is the training unit commander for Yossarian and
Clevinger, and he takes a particular dislike to Clevinger. Even though
Clevinger is just as serious about parades as Scheisskopf, and his
ideas help the squadron win multiple parades, Scheisskopf still
considers him a "wise guy", and someone that needs to be "brought down
a peg or two."
Snowden
Further information: Yossarian
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 his visible wounds with bandages and sulfanilamide
powder. Snowden's death leaves a lasting impression on Yossarian.
Captain Aardvark
Further information: Captain Aardvark
Captain Aardvark (called Aarfy) is the navigator in Yossarian's B-25
bomber (but only when Yossarian is flying in the lead ship - hence
Aarfy's sporadic appearances in the air in the novel). He is oblivious
to incoming flak, repeatedly gets lost on missions, and always smokes
a pipe. He befriends Nately in the hope of working for Nately's
wealthy father after the war. Aarfy sees himself as moral and protects
well-connected women from the sexual advances of other officers, but
he ends up raping and murdering the innocent maid Michaela, and when
asked by Yossarian why he didn't simply hire a prostitute, repeats his
common admonition that "Old Aarfy has never paid for it." He shows no
remorse for these crimes until he begins to worry that he might be
brought to justice for them.
[edit]Other characters

Appleby - A young pilot from Iowa. He is described as being "as good
at shooting craps as he was at playing ping-pong, and he was as good
at playing ping-pong as he was at everything else." Appleby's
character appears to represent those who thrive to a certain extent
within a bureaucratic system and feel threatened by others who do not
play along as much as they would like them to. He follows regulations
without question and does everything he is supposed to do, managing to
succeed with minimal effort at whatever he does.
Captain Black - Because of the lack of risk involved in not flying
missions, Captain Black wanted to take over Major Duluth's position as
squadron commander when the Major was killed over Perugia. He was
thwarted, however, by Major Major, who was appointed squadron
commander as a joke by an I.B.M. machine. Captain Black also
constantly mocks his fellow countrymen at the Pianosa airbase when
they are faced by dangerous missions, by constantly telling everyone
to "eat your liver." Since he is the camp's intelligence officer, he
is not on combat duty and can therefore maintain his gleeful attitude
to the men risking their lives in the air. Black is a paranoid
anti-Communist and pressures all the men to take loyalty oaths, but
out of personal spite prevents Major Major from taking one.
Colonel Cargill - Before the war Cargill was a successful, though
completely untalented, marketing executive. In the Air Force, Colonel
Cargill provided his legendary lack of skills as General Peckem's
troubleshooter. He took self-satisfaction in genius for ineptitude
when addressing the enlisted men instead of the officers.
Clevinger - A highly principled, highly educated man who acts as
Yossarian's foil within the story. His optimistic view of the world
causes Yossarian to consider him to be a "dope," and he and Yossarian
each believe the other is crazy.
Nurse Cramer - Nurse Duckett's best friend. After Nurse Duckett starts
a relationship with Yossarian, puritanical Nurse Cramer stops speaking
to her.
Major Danby - An intellectual college professor with a passive and
somewhat melancholic, yet somewhat serene outlook on life who sees
himself as a poor match for the armed services due to his lack of
aggression. He briefs the airmen on upcoming missions and often acts
as a mediator for disputes between enlisted men and as a confidant to
most of the officers.
Mrs. Daneeka Doc Daneeka's wife. When the doctor is mistakenly
declared dead after listing himself fraudulently on a flight manifest
for a doomed flight, she finds herself suddenly rich and available,
and moves away, leaving no forwarding address.
Further information: Doc Daneeka
Major —— de Coverley - Major —— de Coverley has a terrifying visage in
the Biblical tradition, so much so that men will do his desires
without his even saying a word, and no one dares ask his first name.
The exact nature of the Major's duties within the bomber group is
uncertain. He is Major Major's executive officer, but at the squadron
base in Pianosa his only official duties are pitching horseshoes,
renting two-room apartments for the soldiers on rest leave, and
kidnapping Italian laborers to help around the base. His frequent
appearance during the fall of major cities makes him an object of
interest to intelligence agencies on both sides, neither of which can
identify him.
General Dreedle - The commander of the U.S. Army Air Corps base in
Pianosa, Dreedle is an exceedingly blunt and ill-tempered man. He is
an archetypal no-nonsense military man who does not care what the men
under his command do as long as they fight and die unquestioningly
when given orders. Despite this, he is generally apathetic to the war
effort (having lost all drive after he was made General and he found
he had "nothing more to aim for") and now mostly busies himself with
harassing his son-in-law, Colonel Moodus. His arch-rival is General
Peckem, head of Special Services in Rome; the two men frequently have
their disputes mediated without their knowledge by the desk clerk,
ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen.
Dobbs - Originally a healthy young man, the effects of excessive
combat missions have shot Dobbs' nerves, and when the narration of the
book begins he is emotionally unstable and physically spent. He is
described as being one of the worst pilots in the corps and his
mid-air panic leads him to snatch the controls of the plane away from
Huple, when Snowden is killed. He plots to kill Colonel Cathcart but
will only do it if Yossarian tells him it's a good idea, which
Yossarian never does.
Nurse Duckett - At the start of the novel Nurse Duckett does not like
Yossarian but later on she has a relationship with Yossarian which
jeopardizes her friendship with Nurse Cramer. She breaks off her
affair with Yossarian when she decides to marry a doctor, and realizes
she should not jeopardize her chances by carrying on openly with
Yossarian.
Dunbar - An airman stationed at the same base as Yossarian, on the
island of Pianosa. He and Yossarian seem to have similar
personalities, and so they make fast friends. Like Yossarian, Dunbar's
chief goal is to prolong his life to whatever extent possible, often
by cultivating boredom. He frequently accompanies Yossarian in the
hospital, faking injuries to stay out of combat like his friend does.
Captain Flume - Captain Flume is the squadron's public relations
officer, until he moves out of the trailer he shares with Chief White
Halfoat after Halfoat threatens to slit Flume's throat open from ear
to ear. He spends most of the book living like a hermit in the woods,
which gradually drives him insane.
Giuseppe (the soldier who sees everything twice) - A delirious soldier
who creates a panic in the hospital by shouting, "I see everything
twice!" Yossarian imitates him (by seeing two fingers regardless of
whether a doctor holds up one, two, or none) and later impersonates
him when he dies. The soldier's family does not notice that Yossarian
is not their son.
Gus & Wes - Doc Daneeka's two orderlies, whose main activity is to
paint airmen's gums and toes purple with gentian violet solution.
Daneeka hates them because they refuse to declare him ill so that he
can go home.
Further information: Doc Daneeka
Havermeyer - Havermeyer lives in the tent next to Yossarian's, and
according to Colonel Cathcart he is "the best damn bombardier we've
got." This was because he insists on flying his plane dead straight
to, over, and past the target despite any anti-aircraft fire he
receives. Yossarian despises him because of his insistance in putting
his (Yossarian's) life at stake.
Huple - A fifteen-year-old pilot who lied about his age to get into
the Army, and who shares a tent with Hungry Joe on the wrong side of
the railway tracks. He is shy and nervous but thoroughly idealistic
and patriotic, which is why Yossarian feels sorry for him, feeling
he'll probably die too young. He has a cat that constantly sleeps on
Hungry Joe's face.
Hungry Joe - A fat, perverted soldier who is noted for constantly
trying to photograph women nude, claiming to be a photographer for
Life magazine (which, ironically, he was before the war, although none
of his pictures develop correctly). He is the only pilot who
consistently finished the required number of missions (but was forced
to continue flying as his paperwork was always delayed until the
flight limit was elevated) and has screaming nightmares until he's
ordered back onto combat status.
Sergeant Knight - The turret gunner on Yossarian's plane; he begins a
panic prior to the Bologna operation when he brings extra flak
jackets, causing everyone to think the target is deadly.
Corporal Kolodny - Captain Black's despised assistant. He erroneously
reports that Bologna has been captured by the Allies after Yossarian
surreptitiously redraws the lines on the battle map.
Lieutenant Colonel Korn - Colonel Cathcart's intellectual assistant
and right-hand man. Korn appears along Catchart throughout the novel
and it becomes clear to the reader that Korn does most of the thinking
and most of the work for Cathcart, who only takes the credit. Korn is
portrayed as much more relaxed and less ostentatious than his
superior, but much more sadistic and cynical. Much like Cathcart he
has ambitions for higher military ranks but chooses to be below
Cathcart and remain outside the limelight so that, if something goes
wrong, Cathcart will take the fall instead of him.
Kraft - A man killed at the bombing of a bridge at Ferrara. Yossarian
blames himself, as he ordered the planes back after they missed the
first time.
Luciana - A woman whom Yossarian briefly dates in Rome and whom he
spends a great deal of the second half of the book looking for,
without success.
Major Major Major Major - The squadron commander of the base in
Pianossa, who was named Major Major Major by his father as a joke and
was later made a Major by an IBM machine with a sense of humor similar
to his father's. He is disliked by most of the enlisted men in
Pianossa because he was promoted so suddenly and he chooses to remain
isolated from the other people at the base, letting Sergeant Towser
handle the operations of the base. He doesn't allow people to see him
in his offic while he is in his office, they can only see him when he
isn't there.
Further information: Major Major Major Major
McWatt - The pilot of Yossarian's plane and one of his closest
friends. A young man who appears to be very calm and serene and whom
Yossarian considers to be crazy because he remains sane during the
war. However, he conceals his increasing panic and madness, which
eventually erupts after he accidentally kills Kid Sampson, driving him
to suicide by crashing his plane into a mountain.
Michaela - The half-deaf maid who works in the apartments where
Yossarian and his unit stay while in Rome. She is a sweet and innocent
girl who doesn't speak English and whom the enlisted men mostly leave
alone, except when they mock her in English so she can't understand
them. She represents the innocent bystanders who are hurt by the war,
which makes it even more horrifying when near the end of the book she
is raped and murdered by Aarfy, who simply dismisses the murder as
inconsequential because he's "good old Aarfy, who never pays for it".
Further information: Captain Aardvark
Colonel Moodus - General Dreedle's son-in-law, whom the general hates
and constantly tries to harass and have demoted.
Lieutenant Mudd - More frequently referred to as "the dead man in
Yossarian's tent," Mudd was killed in action before officially joining
the squadron. Due to the bureaucratic uncertainty over the status of
Mudd, no one will accept responsibility for Mudd and his belongings,
and Sergeant Towser refuses to believe the man existed at all.
Orr - A bomber pilot in the squadron who is continually being shot
down and having to crash land in the sea. Described as "a
warm-hearted, simple-minded gnome," Orr is the only person in the
group considered to be crazier than his good friend Yossarian, with
whom he shares a tent. He is declared MIA halfway through the book
after crashing his plane in the Meidterranean but by the end it's
revealed that he had rowed to the netural zone in Sweden to escape the
army, at which point Yossarian realizes that Orr's constant crashes
had been part of his plan. Orr's survival inspires Yossarian to
finally escape the army.
Further information: Orr (Catch-22)
General Peckem - A pompous, pretentious and highly delusional general
who desperately wants to take over General Dreedle's post as the
superior commanding officer of Pianossa. Because of this ambition, he
has a vicious rivalry with Dreedle and constantly tries to undermine
him and have him demoted. His attempts are mostly thwarted without his
knowledge by desk clerk ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen, who enjoys making
Peckem look foolish.
Piltchard & Wren - Two captains in charge of squadron operations that
are always mentioned in tandem. They are sympathetic towards Yossarian
despite his desire to avoid missions.
Corporal Popinjay - The clerk present at Clevinger's trial; he is
imprisoned for being too specific in his shorthand.
Kid Sampson - An underaged soldier killed by the propeller of McWatt's
airplane. The event drives McWatt to suicide and causes Doc Daneeka's
bureaucratic "death".
Major Sanderson - A neurotic psychiatrist who is convinced that
Yossarian is mentally unstable because he acts rationally.
Mrs. Scheisskopf - Scheisskopf is always too busy planning parades to
fulfill his wife's masochistic sexual fantasies. Instead, she sleeps
with Scheisskopf's cadets, so they can all get revenge on her husband.
Further information: Scheisskopf
Sammy Singer - The tailgunner on Yossarian's bomber when Snowden dies.
While he is just a minor character in Catch-22, he becomes one of the
main characters in the sequel, Closing Time.
Corporal Snark - The mess sergeant before Milo Minderbinder. He was
demoted for purposely poisoning sweet potatoes with soap chips, giving
the squadron diarrhea, which he did at Yossarian's request.
Dr. Stubbs
Further information: Doc Daneeka
Sergeant Towser - Major Major's assistant; he prevents anyone from
seeing the Major while he is in his office, and only allows them in
when the Major is gone. Due to Major Major's unwillingness to see
anyone, Towser is the de facto head of the 256th squadron.
Corporal Whitcomb - An atheist who constantly antagonizes and looks to
usurp Chaplain Tappman, his direct superior. By the end of the book,
Tappman manages to gather enough courage to confront Whitcomb and
winds up punching him in the face.
Chief White Halfoat - An American Indian whose family was forced to
move from wherever they settled because oil was always discovered. He
jokingly threatens to slit Catpain Flume's throat while he sleeps,
which accidentally drives Flume to paranoid madness. During the Siege
of Bologna, he decides that he will eventually die of pneumonia, which
he ultimately does.
Ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen - An ex-P.F.C. because of his constant urge to
go AWOL, Wintergreen has been demoted so many times that he entertains
hopes of becoming an ex-general. Due to his position in charge of mail
distribution, he wields a great amount of power in the novel. By
forging documents and destroying mail, he becomes more powerful than
the generals. His main concern throughout the novel is humiliating
General Peckem because he was the first person to have demoted him.
[edit]Unnamed characters

The C.I.D. Investigators
Further information: C.I.D. Investigators
Dreedle's girl Allegedly a nurse, she follows General Dreedle wherever
he goes. She is a very attractive woman and Dreedle keeps her around
to torment his son-in-law, Colonel Moodus, hoping to catch him in an
adulterous situation for which he can punish him.
The maid with the lime-colored panties A woman who Yossarian
paradoxically falls in love with because she is the only woman that
Yossarian can't possibly fall in love with.
Nately's Whore
Further information: Nately
Nately's Whore's Kid Sister
Further information: Nately
The new recruits (Yo-yo's roomies) A group of new young officer-pilots
who Yossarian hates. They are friends from back home, and are excited
to still be able to take part in the war. They practically run
Yossarian out of his tent, and throw out all of Mudd's equipment.
The old man in Rome A 107-year-old man who lives in the brothel
frequented by Nately. He sides with whoever is in power and mocks
Nately's idealism. He reminds Nately uncomfortably of his own father
for the reason that the old man is absolutely nothing like his father.
The Soldier in White An unnamed soldier wrapped completely in
bandages. He is connected to two bottles of unidentified and similar
looking liquid, one which pumps the liquid through an IV into the
soldier, and the other which drains the liquid from the soldier
through a zinc catheter. When the bottles are respectively empty and
full, they are switched around. Dunbar claims there is actually no one
under the bandages.
The Texan An annoying soldier that keeps the men from staying in the
medical ward to hide out from the war.
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