Yossarian: an obscure monster

Whilst reading Catch-22 it is inevitable to not feel overwhelmed by the amount of questions that the novel foments.  With this in mind, I attempted to narrow down the seemingly endless inquiries to the ones that were based on the text.  The title, which is the central most important text in the novel, is defined by the book itself, so I turned to the next important recurring word: Yossarian.  Yossarian is never defined in the novel— or anywhere else— meaning that Heller created the name as part of the message that he wanted Catch-22 to portray.

           

            The ongoing criticism of the American military and the values and morals that it abides by is enveloped in Catch-22’s satirical and cynic tone.  While the author does use a mocking tone to make a point, the main character’s name can be said to define the entire institution that Heller despises.  John Yossarian is the name given to a member of the congregation of America-hating idiots that question the authority.  At least, that is what one can assume based on the reaction to the sole description of his name in the entire novel: “Yossarian— the very sight of the name made him shudder. There were so many esses in it. It just had to be subversive. It was like the word subversive itself. It was like seditious and insidious too, and like socialist, suspicious, fascist and communist... It was not at all like such clean, crisp, honest, American names like Cathcart, Peckem and Dreedle.” The brilliance of Heller’s not-so-subtle name choice lies in the subtle nature of its description, or lack thereof.  Maybe the reason why he chose a name with so many esses was so that it sounded like the USSR.  After all, those communist and socialist animals were waging a war against the U-S-of-A! Perhaps the reason he chose Yossarian was because it was a twisted onomatopoeia to the sound made by a subversive officer.  The insidious nature of a Yossarian (now a noun) was one so that little by little the land of the free and the home of the brave could be taken over by insubordinate pilots that show up naked to funerals. 

            While Catch-22 may raise many questions regarding the writing style that the author employed and the odd plot that it follows, the name Yossarian is by far the most unresolvable riddle.  The message that the book portrays critiques American war culture in a mocking tone.  Nevertheless, maybe Heller just wanted to use a name that was, to say the least, uncommon, so that the reader couldn’t associate with it.  For fun’s sake, lets hope not.