In the scene that you are remembering, Major Major is trying to
convince Yossarian of the necessity of flying four additional combat
missions.
From page 113:
"Colonel Cathcart is our commanding officer and we must obey him. Why
don't you fly the four more missions and see what happens?"
"I don't want to."
What could you do? Major Major asked himself again. What could you do
with a man who looked you squarely in the eye and said he would rather
die than be killed in combat, a man who was at least as mature and
intelligent as you were and who you had to pretend was not? What could
you say to him?
"Suppose we let you pick your missions and fly milk runs," Major Major
said. "That way you can fly the four missions and not run any risks."
"I don't want to fly milk runs. I don't want to be in the war any more."
"Would you like to see our country lose?" Major Major asked.
"We won't lose. We've got more men, more money and more material.
There are ten million men in uniform who could replace me. Some people
are getting killed and a lot more are making money and having fun. Let
somebody else get killed."
"But suppose everybody on our side felt that way."
"Then I'd certainly be a damned fool to feel any other way. Wouldn't I?"
======================================================================
After some mental dithering, Major Major ends the conversation by
telling Yossarian "I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do."
I hope this is precisely what you need. If anything is unclear or
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Best regards,
pinkfreud |
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