Catch 22 Chapter 22
Milo the Mayor
By: Julie, Dana and Sara
Chapter Summary
What really went down in Avignon
 Dobbs (the co-pilot) totally freaks out on Huple (15year old
pilot) during the Avignon mission, causing the plane to nose
dive
 Dobbs is crying out for someone to help the bombardier
after the nose of the plane gets hit, after realizing that
Yossarian is the bombardier, he tells him to help the radiogunner (Snowden)
 Snowden is dying and continuously saying “I’m cold… please
help me I’m cold” (226)
 Snowden dies in the rear area of the plane
Chapter Summary (continued…)
 Dobbs wants Yossarian to help him murder Colonel Cathcart
because he keeps raising the mission requirements and says
that “[Cathcart] is going to kill us all if we let him go on
forever. We’ve got to kill him first” (227)
 Dobbs looks for Yossarian’s approval… Yossarian does not
approve
 SKIP (we go back in time to after Major __ De Coverley
leaves, but before Milo bombs the squadron)
 Yossarian and Orr are granted a rest leave in which they hang
out with Milo… sort of…
Chapter Summary
Adventures with Milo
 Yossarian’s “mission” on the trip is to keep Orr from finding out where Milo buys







his eggs... But Orr is in Milo’s syndicate  shows lack of concrete knowledge
surrounding the syndicate
Start: Pianosa…. Then Sicily… Then Palmero…
Milo always promises Yossarian and Orr nice hotel rooms with prostitutes where
they can relax, but these promises fall through
Milo stays in all the nicest places because he is somehow super important
everywhere they go
They travel to many other places, and everywhere Milo has some position of power
All of the profits from Milo’s black market sales supposedly go towards the
syndicate
Milo buys Egyptian Cotton and Red Green Bananas
Upon return to Pianosa, Yossarian and Orr both agree that the trip was not relaxing
at all (ironic compared to war any trip should be relaxing)
Milo… All Powerful Milo
 Mayor of Palmero
 Assistant Governor General of Malta
 Vice-Shah of Oran
 Caliph of Baghdad
 Imam of Damascus
 Sheik of Araby
 Worshiped as the God of rain, rice, and corn in many
African countries
Satire and Style
 Dobbs’ desire to kill Cathcart
 Killing Cathcart satirized the war because Heller was mocking and criticizing




the government’s ignorance about what truly happened in war and the war’s
effects on soldiers and society.
Pg 226: “‘Look. Nothing would please me more than to have the son of a _
break his neck or get killed in a crash or to find out that someone else had
shot him to death. But I don’t think I could kill him… He’s got a right to live,
too.’ … ‘What’s the matter with you?’ Dobbs was flabbergasted”
It is evident that Dobbs does not understand the significance of a human life.
In this case, Dobbs was representing both the government and the war, and
how both were ignorant to and over-looked the significance of human life.
In this scene Heller used both the dialogue between the characters, and the
description of Dobbs as a character to create satire. Also, this is not a comical
form of satire, this is one of Heller’s darker forms
Satire and Style (continued…)
 Satire of Milo and the Syndicate
 Heller intended for the syndicate and Milo to be comical and amusing, because in
reality, the comedy is there to cover up the darkness behind the syndicate. However, by
using comedy to satirize Milo and the syndicate, Heller ironically is not only using
comedy to cover up, but also to emphasize the mystery and secrecy behind the
syndicate.
 Pg 232: “They all belong to the Syndicate and they know what’s good for the syndicate
is good for the country”
 This shows how the American people followed the govt. blindly and how the US
troops followed their leaders and orders blindly as well. In this scene, the syndicate is
representative of the US govt., and when Heller says the syndicate knows best, one can
assume Heller is suggesting that the US govt. has too much power, and he is criticizing
that. Also in the line before this, he is criticizing what goes on behind the scenes and
the secrets in the war, military, and govt. Uses a lot of description and dialogue about
the syndicate to criticize it
 Pg 233 shows how easy Milo (American people and/or US govt.) can sway peoples
opinions and thoughts… almost like brainwashing. At beginning of the page, he likes
Yossarrian and thinks that he is honest, but at end of the page, Milo becomes livid with
Yossarrian. Used the dialogue between the two men and the description of Milo.
Satire and Style (yes… again)
 Irony of Milo’s praise
 Pg 237 “Everywhere they touched [Milo] was acclaimed with honor”
 The praise mocks how the American people follow so blindly, as well as
how the govt. and military (Milo) think so highly of themselves. This also
mocks the hypocrisy and backwardness of the war, US govt., and the US
military.
 Pg 237 “Milo was not only the Vice-Shah of Oran, as it turned out, but
also the Caliph Baghdad, the Imam of Damascus…”
 Heller used detail and description of all of Milo’s lavish roles to satirize
how people can be involved in dark affairs and end up successful (Milo),
while other people work hard get nothing (Yossarrian)
Déjà Vu (ish)
 Heller often alludes to Snowden’s death  now we know
what actually happened
 Milo’s dabbling in the black market is brought up on so many
occasions with the plum tomatos, eggs, egyptian cotton, and
bananas  these links to earlier in the book can help us to
figure out time placement. They also play into the mystery
surrounding Milo
 Backwards feelings Yossarian enjoys a hospital over the
war, however here he enjoys the war over a trip  displays
how war is messing with his emotions (not just him)
Foreshadowing That Feels Like Déjà Vu
 The detail surrounding Snowden’s death foreshadows his
funeral  provides emotional explanation for Yossarian being
nakey
 Milo is soooo involved in the black market  foreshadows
his profits going south, his impending desperation, and future
bombing of the squadron
 (236) talks about Orr and the crabapples in his cheeks again
(ties back to pg 24-25). Almost exact same conversation
except Orr explains to Yossarian why he wanted apple
cheeks, knowing that he won’t be able to understand him due
to the chesnuts in his cheeks at the moment
Themes
 Death is Unavoidable
 Snowden’s death
 Yossarian’s thoughts p. 226
 Yossarian’s paranoia over everyone being out to kill him
 Corruption of Government/Military
 Dobbs’ plan to murder Colonel Cathcart before he raises the
number of missions AGAIN p. 226
- (might be a stretch) similar to how Milo has power over cities
(represents government thereex. mayor and has high prices
for items) wily personality :) p. 234
The End