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assassination list. More important than the strangulation, however, is Yossarian's reaction to what he has done; ''He was not angry anymore. He was ashamed," and we see him "hanging his head with guilt and remorse." And this is significant for it marks a change in Yossarian's self-perception from numbering himself at least potentially among the ''victims" to counting himself as one of the perpetrators of evil. Yossarian is beginning to accept responsibility. |
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Imbedded in this account are the references to McWatt's playful buzzings of the tent, and this establishes the background for the final episode, the death of Kid Sampson. Again, ironically, the responsibility for this death is McWatt's, even though he is one of the "good guys" and had no malicious intent. But McWatt doesn't shrink from the responsibility, even for a moment; at least in terms of classical morality, he does the honorable thing. Thus he becomes the first person we see for whom living or continued existence doesn't come first. |
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Yet, there is one more dimension to this; for, however honorable McWatt's act is, it is called into question by Yossarian's call for McWatt, "to come down, McWatt, come down." Earlier, we could have read this as Yossarian's concern for "going on living"; following his own change, however, this has got to be taken as evidence of his as yet unarticulated sense of the meaning of life and responsibility. Thus Yossarian first senses what McWatt is going to do, sees that element of honor (he "dipped his wings once in salute"), but also sees an element of despair (he "decided oh, well, what the hell"). And he seems to feel that there must be an alternative to this. |
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Occasionally, we have followed the rapid time shift, but here we have a fairly chronological time sequence but a "rapid" shift in place. Doc Daneeka, really alive but "presumed dead," stands in stark contrast to Mudd, really dead but considered to be alive; and for this episode, the narrator switches us to "Mrs. Daneeka, Doc Daneeka's wife." |
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Ironically, the profit which Doc foresaw from the war comes true . . . but not for him. Mrs. Daneeka, grief-stricken "for about a full week," soon begins to realize a substantial profit from her husband's death; and, in consequence, her friends are relieved of "the obligation of continuous sympathy" which they resent. |
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By this point the novel is beginning to tie together some loose ends, so we have interwoven here the result of the clash between the chaplain and Sgt. Whitcomb: the form letter of condolences. More importantly, however, as these threads begin to come together into a tapestry, the image which has symbolized the most obvious threat of physical danger . . . the |
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