… she laid for everybody, regardless of race, creed, color or place of national origin, donating herself sociably as an act of hospitality… (133)
He stepped into the briefing room with mixed emotions, uncertain how he was supposed to feel about Kraft and the others, for they had all died in the distance of a mute and secluded agony at a moment when he was up to his own ass in the same vile, excruciating dilemma of duty and damnation. (137)
He woke up blinking with a slight pain in his head and opened his eyes upon a world boiling in chaos in which everything was in perfect order. (144)
… and after a while Yossarian’s spirit died and his arms dropped helplessly with exhaustion. He was overcome with a humiliating feeling of impotence and was ready to weep in self-pity. (149)
 |
Tank battalion in Bologna, April 1945
This section reveals a lot. Not only do we learn more about characters such as Major —— de Coverley and Aarfy, but we also come to understand how Yossrian rose to the rank of captain, and how he endures such immense stress and terror each mission. And, as always, Heller’s sardonic humor and sharp critique of American bureaucracy is present. Yet in all of this, the fourteenth chapter stood apart for me in contrast to the rest of the story thus far. The scene Heller set was more tranquil, less chaotic. It was the first time that feelings of guilt or conscience were explored in any manner. Interesting. Anyway, here are a few questions, I hope everyone is doing well! :)
1. As a few people mentioned on a recent blog and like we briefly discussed "in class," Heller's depiction of women is striking for its seemingly apparent sexist and misogynistic overtones. So, the depiction of women in the thirteenth chapter (specifically pgs. 132-133), how do we feel about it? Also, we did not cover it in this reading, it is interesting to note how chapter sixteen is entitled "Luciana" after one of Yossarian's lovers.
3. What do we make of Aarfy? Is he really as untethered from reality as Yossarian makes him out to be, or is Yossarian’s perception also clouded? Do you think his reaction during their mission is an understandable one?
 |
| WW2 B17 crew member |
1. Well, it is clear in these chapters in particular that Heller is writing women into the story as servants to men; they cook and clean for the men on leave or exist solely as sex objects in the novel. I obviously think that the depiction is demeaning and misogynistic, but I would also argue that it is a very true picture of women in the Second World War from the perspective of an American soldier. Yossarian is too busy trying to salvage what little is left of his life and sanity to see the people around him as equal to him. I do not find it surprising that the man who is only looking out for himself in the war uses women as objects for his own satisfaction and relaxation.
ReplyDelete2. Well, if I knew the outcomes, I would side with Yossarian because his method seemed to work pretty well; losing one ship is better than sending in a whole fleet of ships, each with a 50% lethality rate. However, if I were in his shoes, I think I would have tried to take the bad shot the first go around. Given that each ship has a 50% rate of destruction when flying in a full fleet, I would argue that a lone ship would face near-guaranteed destruction because that one ship faces the firepower that would usually go to a full squad. I think the odds would be that my ship would be destroyed before it even dropped its bombs on the second run, and then the others would have to fly in again. It is a lose-lose likely scenario.
3. No, at least when the story is told from the bias of Yossarian, Aarfy is completely out of his goddam mind. He is calm and ambivalent when the plane is being flaked to no end, and for some reason doesn’t hear Yossarian yelling at him. This could be because Aarfy has become so disconnected with reality that he doesn’t process the danger or what Yossarian is saying, or because Yossarian is disconnected from reality and is muttering to himself about things that aren’t happening. We cannot be certain of either reality with the narrator bias of the novel.
ReplyDelete1. Heller’s description of women in this section made me very uncomfortable. He described them mainly as sex objects, and didn’t focus on much else. I can see where Keyes is coming from in his response to this question, saying that it is likely the same view the soldiers have, but I find it hard to believe that these soldiers were living and interacting with these women and still saw them as sex objects—I mean, have they not had a conversation with these, or really any other, women?
2. I think that Yossarian was right in his decision for one main reason, summed up well in Yossarian’s quote on page 137: “And maybe there would have been more losses, with the bridge still left standing.” If Yossarian had dropped the bombs the first time, saving Kraft’s life, all six planes would have had to go back for another go at destroying the bridge, meaning there is more of a risk for more losses. I think Yossarian made the right decision, and I hope that, in that scenario, I would do the same, though I do not know how I would act under that stress.
3. I think that Aarfy is, from what we have seen, crazy, as he doesn’t fear death. I think he can actually hear Yossarian just fine, and is giving him a hard time because he sees how scared Yo-yo is. I did not initially think he reaction is understandable, but, when considering the fact that he might not fear death, it becomes more plausible.
1. Similar to Keyes and Leo, I find the depiction of women to be awful in this book. Reading the sections with female descriptions was extremely uncomfortable, and given that the story is told from Yossarian’s perspective, I think these passages say a lot about him as a character and provide ample support for Yossarian not being a hero of the story. However, even though Yossarian is the main character, the book is written in 3rd person, not in 1st. I certainly hope that Heller did not share Yossarian’s view of women when he was in the war or writing, but I think he needs to make his opinion more clear with an obvious critique of Yossarian’s. As Leo wrote, I would like to believe that the portrayal of women in this book is not an accurate viewpoint of what an American soldier believed and that Heller was just exaggerating the sexism and misogyny to prove a point.
ReplyDelete2. I have no clue what the correct decision would be in Yossarian’s situation. His mistake was that he miscalculated the first bombing, so I would definitely try to win the bridge on the first go. But, honestly, if I were left with the same two options, I would probably choose not to try and bomb the bridge again because I would be too scared. However, I think Yossarian probably made the better decision from a moral standpoint. He looked at the consequences of both and chose the one with fewer expected casualties.
3. I think Aarfy is as out of touch with the world and himself as Yossarian says. He has completely lost the ability to recognize true danger. By distracting Yossarian, he is putting everyone’s lives at risk, yet he continues to act ridiculously. When Aarfy sees the snow-like paper pieces in the plane, he grins “proudly from ear to ear like something inhuman” and becomes “like an eerie ogre in a dream” (146). I agree with Yossarian depiction that Aarfy’s joy seems totally bizarre and inhuman; however, in most war stories we have read, it is clear that war changes humans and their emotions. For example, soldiers often laugh at things that we see as horrible. I think that while Aarfy is crazy by our standards, in the context of war, his reaction may be understandable.
1. This is similar to the conversations we had four years ago, and it can't be avoided. For me the most important line in these two pages that addresses Ruby's question is "The girls had shelter and food for as long as they wanted to stay. All they had to to in return was hump any of the men who asked them to, which seems to make everything just about perfect for them" (132-133). One of the themes of the book as Anna said recently is power: who wields it, who doesn't, and what do you do when you have it, and what do you do when you don't have it. Historically, and I think this to be true, women in this situation have the least power. The Italian women here seem to have no husbands—in POW camps perhaps, off fighting, possibly dead—and for "humping" American soldiers they get "shelter and food for as long as they want to stay." I tend to agree with Keyes here. The language is comic (and maybe insulting)—"hump"?—but the situation is far from it. Our men are not 21st century woke creatures, but American men of the 40s and 50s. They want want to be served by women the way I imagine they were at home and "then there were always the gay and sensual young girls that Yossarian had found" (132). I don't think Heller is a misogynist. I think the world he is describing is.
ReplyDelete2. Good question. What would I do? Honestly, probably what Yossarian did. I would like to think I would not have gone over twice—which in another text would be presented as the epitome of heroism, but here is plain stupidity that even Cathcart can't believe anyone would do. And if we buy into the narrative that the bridge had to be destroyed, well, then, it had to be destroyed. But this is pre-Snowden Yossarian; the Yossarian of the present knows "We won't lose. We've got more men, more money, and more material...Some people are getting killed and a lot more are making money and having fun" (103). It's hard to even gauge in the book what effect the bombing is having on the war. Captain Miller would go over twice, and I most of us would; Captain Yossarian knows now it's sham, it's playing a role. I hope I would see this as clearly as he does, but I doubt it.
3. I want to hit Aarfy. I want to hit many in this book.But Aarfy is at the head of the list. I agree with Charlotte that he has lost touch with the world, and the war he is fighting is to make Yossarian's life as hellish as possible. He's not a knucklehead, but he's twit: "a silly annoying fool," as defined by Mirriam-Webster.
By the way, that's a great picture Ruby put up of the crew member in all his flak gear. The equipment weighed 30 pounds and was designed to protect the men from the flak that could cut right through the plane hull. I suspect it wouldn't offer much protection to pieces of metal that could cut through the plane's hull.
1. While this description and depiction of women is most definitely sexist and mysognistic as it says, "The girls had shelter and food for as long as they wanted to stay. All they had to do in return was hump any of the men who asked them to," (132,133) it does not surprise me that this is part of the book considering the context of the story and the descriptions of women in previous chapters. I think this is another connection the overwhelming theme of the importance of power/rank in the book; this book is set during WW2 in the army: while this is horrible and I would hate to believe this to be true, this is most likely a fairly accurate description of women during this time. Women were powerless and men were powerful.
ReplyDelete2. In this situation knowing myself, I would most likely save the man and lose the bridge. Even though Yossarian makes the point that if he didn't wipe out the bridge, there would have been even more losses, I think first of all I would have been too scared to go for a round two, and also losing someone you know makes it that much more personal and in the moment I don't think I would be weighing all the pros and cons out in my head and deciding to sacrifice one of my own. While I don't think the decision that I would make about not going for a round two is necessarily correct and Yossarian was probably right to do what he did, I think realistically it would be the choice I would make.
3. I think Aarfy is a victim of Catch-22. He's obviously crazy and needs to get out of there and get some serious help, but he doesn't see that because he's crazy and doesn't have a problem or fear of war and death. He's not afraid, in fact he acts as a danger and distraction to his life and the lives of the others around him because he takes death so lightly and doesn't seem to fear it or think it is a possibility. Considering the situation around him where everyone else is panicking and yelling and in complete fight or flight mode, it was insane that Aarfy seemed completely unaffected and unaware. No, I do not think his reaction was understandable at all, but at the same time completely understandable because that's just the arbitrariness of war.
1. In Heller’s description, Major — de Coverely rents out luxury apartments for the soldiers. However, not only does de Coverely rent out the apartments, but he also arranges for women to work for the men in the apartments. Heller’s description almost puts the women and the apartments on the same level in a very misogynistic way. For example, Heller states, “For the officers, [...] there was an immense double room for each in a new white stone building, with three spacious bathrooms with walls of shimmering aquamarine tile and one skinny maid named Michaela who tittered at everything and kept the apartment in spotless order” (132). In Heller’s words, it’s as if the women come as an extension of the apartment and nothing more. The tone makes it seem like the women are only there to please the soldiers and lack substance to their characters.
ReplyDelete2. I think the choice Yossarian makes is very interesting based on his past philosophy. Before, Yossarian says the goal of the mission is “to come down alive,” but in this mission he sacrifices life to help win the war (29). I think that I would have chosen to take down the bridge as well. I think that the impact of taking down the bridge is greater than that of “Kraft and his crew” (136). However, there is really no way of knowing and that was the part of "When Engaging Targets. Remember" that was so difficult: you don’t know if you made the correct choice. Also, I think it is interesting that Yossarian won a medal and was promoted for his decision. I think it shows Heller’s opinion on the priorities of war, where winning comes before living. This same opinion was shown earlier when Yossarian was called crazy for wanting to preserve his own life.
3. Aarfy is sort of Yossarian’s polar opposite. He is careless but in a sort of ignorance is bliss type of way. He smiles and lights his pipe as the plane is torn to pieces. His personality is especially shown when his map is shot. Heller says, “Thousands of tiny bits of white paper were falling like snowflakes inside the plane [...] Aarfy was grinning proudly ear to ear like something inhuman as he held up a shattered paper map for Yissaeian to see” (149). Aarfy just doesn’t get it and it infuriates Yossarian. I definitely understood Yossarian’s reaction and felt the exact same way. I think this moment exemplifies the main idea Heller is trying to express: Yossarian seems crazy because the people around him aren’t seeing the danger for what it is.
I see very little dignity in this book, most notably regarding the portrayal of every single woman, which is incredibly disappointing from a personal perspective; however, I think it fits perfectly well into Heller’s creation of a world in which nobody is permitted dignity. Even the highest ranking officials and people (supposedly) most demanding of respect are ridiculed through Yossarian and Heller’s perspective(s.) The girls who are allowed to live in the apartments as long as they provide any sexual favors requested of them is probably the most disturbing example of misogyny so far, but am I surprised? Of course not.
ReplyDeleteI think I would win the bridge and lose the man. I think. My mindset would most likely be that if I didn’t get the bridge then, everyone would have to go back anyways, although, they would probably find another mission just for the fun of it, so who even knows. It would be futile, but I would try to get as many missions out the way as possible. It’s like homework. I almost die trying to finish it all in one go, but it doesn’t matter how much I accomplish now because there will always be more, so I could lose the bridge and save the man but the man will probably die anyways trying to secure that same exact bridge a second/third/hundredth time, so I may as well at least have some very momentary satisfaction and/or relief by trying to win the bridge now at the expense of one plane (in this homework scenario, it’s a sacrifice of a little bit of relaxation.)
Quite frankly, Aarfy scares me and if Yossarian had decided to, let’s say, somehow throw him out of the plane, I would not be 200% against it. I was a little stressed just reading about the interaction between Aarfy and Yo, and I’m not entirely sure why (besides the fact that Aarfy was jeopardizing others’ potential safety.) I don't quite understand Aarfy (and maybe that’s why his characterization is so disturbing to me.) He is not a McWatt who sees death and is not afraid. It’s like he doesn’t even recognize that death is in his realm of possibility, and who’s to say which is worse.
It is no question to say that the description of women is horrible in this chapter, especially how women are pictured as objects and only for sexual pleasure. However, perhaps that really is all that the men care about. Perhaps in time of war, no one is rational, therefore, they come to this conclusion. They want what they aren’t supposed to have. In no way is this right to have this mentality, or treat women in this way, but perhaps, and in many cases, it is reality.
ReplyDelete2. In this section of the story we also learn how Yossarian came to be captain during the debacle of Ferrara. In his "dilemma of duty and damnation" Yossarian faces a moral quandary. In a similar style as "When Engaging Targets. Remember" the scenario becomes this: win the bridge and lose a man vs. save the man and lose the bridge? What would you do in this situation and why?
As much as I would love to say that I would save the crew, knowing myself, I would probably win the bridge. In war, everyone is dying left and right, and your main instinct is to stay alive. If winning that bridge is another step to life, then so be it. However, the real question is if I would be able to carry the action out. I could of course talk about winning the bridge, but in reality I might not even be able to. I can see why a person would choose either option and it just goes back to morality and if there is any morality in war in the first place.
3. What do we make of Aarfy? Is he really as untethered from reality as Yossarian makes him out to be, or is Yossarian’s perception also clouded? Do you think his reaction during their mission is an understandable one?
I don’t like Aarfy at all. He seems out of touch, has no common sense, and no urgency that his life might be at stake. However, maybe he knows that he will die, so might as well not fret over it. I think he is depicted to be a crazy man, trying to mess up the plan and operation at whatever it takes. He finds humor at annoying Yossarian to great lengths. He almost seems to be a bully of sorts, taunting him and shouting insults, and distracting him from the real dire matter at hand. It’s sick and twisted. However, we must also keep in mind that all of this is told from Yossarian’s perspective, so it might not all be true. Perception in key.
1. Heller’s way of writing about women is kind of nauseating at times. It's very clear that female characters provide little advancement in the plot, and are simply there to be sexualised or used to the soldiers’ advantages in the way of food or cleaning or entertainment, as evident in these pages. The soldiers assume that the girls want to do sexual favors for them as a way to get what they need, but I wonder if that’s actually the case. I guess there’s no way to know for sure. Heller never writes about how women are feeling. I’m not entirely sure if these descriptions are telling of Heller’s own views of women or if he is trying to make a point about how the soldiers feel. Part of me wonders if there’s any difference.
ReplyDelete2. I like to think that if I missed a risky, life-threatening shot the first time, I would have the courage to go back around and take the shot again. I also like to think that I would be able to make this decision knowing that it not only puts my life at risk, but also the lives of my fellow soldiers. But when I really think about it, I don’t think I would have the courage or mental capacity to make a decision to do either of those things. I wonder if Yossarian acted on instinct or if he really did decide to do the brave thing and risk his life in order to finish the mission. I don’t know if he knew the gravity of his actions as he did them. It wasn’t until it was all over that he knew what had happened.
3. Aarfy seems incredibly naive, almost in a destructive way. He slows Yossarian down because he lacks a very vital sense of urgency. His calmness made me very on edge when reading this scene, which is a very interesting thing to say. Yossarian was growing more and more tense as the minutes passed, and Aarfy seemed completely monotonous. It was a frustrating thing to have to read, specifically because I knew how important it was that Yossarian made decisions quickly and safely. Aarfy was being too calm and too deliberate. He made it a lot more nerve-wracking.
1. I know John and Molly already quoted this, but it is too pertinent to not do it again. “The girls had shelter and food for as long as they wanted to stay. All they had to do in return was hump any of the men who asked them to, which seemed to make everything just about perfect for them” (132-133). Heller is not standing up to this misogyny and is thus part of the problem. He does not seem to be criticizing it, therefore making him a willing participant of it. “Which seemed to make everything perfect for them” portrays the same image of women that we have been seeing, one of simple sexual beings and nothing more. I can certainly see soldiers thinking of women in this way, but the narrator does not say that the soldiers thought that the women thought everything was perfect for them, the narrator says that as somewhat of a statement of fact. I also tend to think of a typical depiciton of women from the ‘50s as being of dumb house wives. I think of women who just want to get a husband, not of women who just want to have sex. I am not sure, though, which one is more dehumanizing.
ReplyDelete2. I am not sure. I think I would probably follow orders and shoot down the bridge the first time because I would believe that in the end it will be saving more people because it is helping the war effort. If it did not get destroyed the first time I think I would circle back, but I do not think I would circle back if I thought there was no point to bombing the bridge and I was putting one of my fellow soldiers in danger.
3. I think it is very amusing that he is Yo-Yo’s navigator, but gets lost wherever he goes. From the narration, I think Aarfy is untethered from reality. “Yossarian whirled to escape and smacked into Aarfy, who had struck a match and was placidly lighting his pipe. Yossarian gaped at his grinning, moon-faced navigator in utter shock and confusion. It occurred to him that one of them was mad” (148). How can you light a pipe during a battle if you have a sense of reality? He is also no help in this crisis and whenever anyone calls for him to help them, he “cannot hear” them. I do think Yo-Yo’s response was understandable. If I was out on a mission and thought I could die and the people around me were not doing everything in their power to ensure that we all stayed alive, I would also want to punch someone. Come on. How can you just smoke a pipe while trying to bomb bologna? Also, why did he bring the pipe with him? I am not a fan of Aarfy, but I do not have a particular affinity for any of the characters, so Aarfy is no different.
I’m not seeing anything that makes me want to retract my previous point. Yet again, the entire purpose of the women seems to be serving as sex objects, and willing sex objects. Yes, prostitution was probably a way of survival in a war-torn, unstable world, especially if it came with perks like living in Major — de Coverly’s well-furnished, well-stocked apartments. However, the casualness of it all and the acceptance that women are there to be used and enjoy being used is remarkably uncritical and chauvinistic. Perhaps it’s of the time period, or the context of war, but it turns my stomach. Here’s a form of exploitation that, unlike others, I see Heller ridiculing, but not necessarily criticizing. As weird and exaggerated as the setups are at times (“lime green underwear”), there really seems to be an assumption that women are just that sexual by nature, not by circumstance, which makes it seem not satirical to me.
ReplyDeleteI don’t know. Partly, and I think Keyes talked about this at the beginning of the semester, you don’t go into the situation knowing it’s going to be a one-to-one exchange. However, there’s definitely risk, and in this situation of flying over the target again, the risk is really quite high. There is some sense that Yossarian would have known what a chance he was taking. Yet in the very next scene of him turning back from Bologna, it’s clear that the results don’t always work out the way he anticipates. But I really don’t know. What I do know is I liked Yossarian more after reading this passage, since it explains why he is the way he is. I genuinely respect his choice, having gotten a fellow pilot killed in exchange for a bridge Colonel Cathcart doesn’t seem to care about as anything but an embarrassment, to then turn around the next time he was flying and not waste his own life or that of his crew. After all, even Colonel Korn, who seems diabolically clever and more self-aware than many characters, says that they are giving him a medal, “...to act boastfully about something we ought to be ashamed of.” and thus cover up the ignominy.
No. I was very much disturbed by Aarfy and frustrated by his doofus behavior that could easily get them killed while dodging flak. A bombing run isn’t a sightseeing tour. However, he did kind of remind me of Upham, who completely freezes up even when his friend is dying in the next room and cannot act in self-defense or otherwise. He’s simply frozen. It’s possible that Aarfy’s foolishness is brought on by the incredible stress he is under. Then again, he’s not new to war at this point, is he? How has he survived this long without acclimating?
Prompt One: I dislike the ways in which women have been portrayed this far. On page 136, for example, two women who live on the landing above are repeatedly (and only) described by their wealth and black hair. Certainly this is narrow minded. On the other hand, perhaps this is all the soldiers notice. We talked last semester about a character named Manny from one of the stories in When the Men are Gone, and his infidelity sparked a discussion about how one’s mentality might shift while away at war. For instance, there was one character who missed toilet paper and the other household items that made life easier. It’s not easy being face to face with death, and these men dreamed of their household comforts to escape. What strikes me as similar, in this chapter, is that Yossarian is also trying to find this comfort. While I disapprove of his attitude toward (Who Heller even calls) “The maid in lime-colored panties,” I make a leap between his seeking of “accessibility” and the fact that he, in other aspects of his life, is bound to fly missions when ordered. Here, just like the men who wish for what they don’t have -- toilet paper -- Yossarian is “in love” with the idea of someone who is available to “every man who wanted her.”
ReplyDeletePrompt Two: Before I begin my answer, I just found Korn and Cathcart’s decision to promote Yossarian after this bridge incident to be rather psychologically damaging. I’m already skeptical of the process of rewarding valor in the face of an enemy -- death is still being encouraged -- yet this action, to reward Yossarian for his blunder of killing Kraft, seems even worse due to its message that what he did was what they expected from him. As we can see with his desire to turn back in the next mission, he is no longer the same brave man who went back to finish the bridge. Now, I would say he is traumatized by those experiences, wanting only to look out for his own safety (everyone else’s too, if they turn back), and yet conflicted because this isn’t what is “wanted” from him. If I were in his spot, I would likely continue flying, hoping that the great pez machine would fill behind me and someone else would risk their life to finish what I could not. I value my life.
Prompt Three: I am conflicted. While Aarfy disregards Yossarian -- endangering everyone on the mission -- he still takes up the front of the plane and is nearest to the escape hatch. Does he fear death or not? Regardless, he just feels like an impediment, endangering what’s come to be a recurring character in these chapters, our fearful pilot Yossarian. I’m annoyed at Aarfy for coming in the way like that.
I still have the same opinion about Heller’s treatment of women as I did last week during our zoom call. The women who do have a stage in this novel only serve as sexual outlets for the men. I agree with Anna that women are only expected to fill the stereotype of being a sex object. When reading any misogynistic texts I always wonder whether the sexism is just the characters speaking or if it is the author voicing their opinion through the characters. I wonder if Heller is writing in a sexist fashion to critique the soldiers and further critique society in general. After all, Heller does not describe anyone kindly in the novel so far. He critiques both women and men harshly, but he confines women by only allowing them to be seen in a sexual context. Even if Heller is trying to make a point through his misogynistic tone or if his book is just filled with sexist characters, I do not think he should be excused for his blatant misogyny.
ReplyDeleteI have absolutely no idea what I would do in this situation, nor do I know what is the “right” decision. Just like “When Engaging Targets. Remember,” there is no right or wrong answer necessarily. Also you can not rely on guidelines or previous training to make a decision such as the one Yossarian has to make about the bridge. Because he is so afraid of death, it makes sense that he would choose the path with the least casualties. I think that I would probably try to get the bridge the first time, but also bail the second time if I saw that the consequences were too high.
Aarfy drove me crazy! While reading, I wondered if Aarfy was actually this annoying and out of touch or if he had gone completely mad from the war. I agree with John that there are many deeply flawed characters in this book, but Aarfy is especially irritating because he is obviously putting his fellow soldier’s lives at risk. The part that really made me crazy about Aarfy was when all of the planes where being destroyed and yet “Aarfy’s joy was sublime”(149). He clearly does not feel fear in the same way that people like Yossarian do. I wonder if Aarfy is afraid of dying or if he is too delusional that he does not care.