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As we are told the whole, gruesome story of Snowden's death, his "secret" is revealed to us as it had once, in Yossarian's presence, "spilled all over the messy floor." "Man was matter, that was Snowden's secret.'' And the conclusion to be drawn from this view is plain, ''Ripeness is all." This is the view that has set Yossarian on the path he has pursued through most of the novel, the view referred to in the note to chapter six as carpe diem. And certainly we can understand how such a vivid incident could unconsciously influence a man. But, the view is qualified: "The spirit gone, man is garbage." You cannot be a ''pal" to garbage. With Yossarian, however, his concern for "who's my pal" and his spiritual definition of life suggest that the spirit is not or need not be gone. And with spirit, what then? |
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The most important definition in the novel is given by Yossarian as he tells Danby the deal is off, and this is his definition of weakness as the desire "to save my life." |
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Confronted in this belief by Danby, Yossarian finds Danby-the-man on the one side and the ideas Danby expresses on the other. Danby, the self-admitted coward, must be rejected as a model. But what Danby says, particularly about not letting the difference between men and ideals stop one from regarding the welfare of his country and the dignity of man, must be accepted. For this to take place, Yossarian has to clarify how he regards himself; and the ideals Danby speaks of must cease to seem abstract. |
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One can see this work out by following the progression of Yossarian's thoughts. At first, contemptuous of Danby and frustrated by the "Scheisskopfs, Peckems, Korns, and Cathcarts," Yossarian talks of saving himself. "I'm going to fight a little to save myself. The country's not in danger anymore, but I am." But as Yossarian pursues this reasoning, he comes to the deja vu recognition. He sees this as the line of thought he had pursued all along until he realized its weakness. Having been brought to his senses he can tell Danby that what Danby considers "a way to save yourself" is really "a way to lose myself." From here on out, saving oneself will take on the new meaning of not dissipating one's energies, as the chaplain did (praying "takes my mind off my troubles . . . And it gives me something to do") and as Col. Korn and Col. Cathcart do (who want promotion because, "What else have we got to do?"). In other words, it means being willing to risk oneself to save oneself for something higher. |
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This sense gives Yossarian courage, the "courage to defy somebody" (note: to defy somebody, not to rebel). At this point, however, it seems that the situation is hopeless. That is, doomed to failure in material terms, all the courageous man can do is live with "all these crushing burdens" in a kind of infinite resignation. But hope immediately enters the picture with |
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