List of Catch-22 characters

The following is a list of characters in the 1961 novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller.

Captain John Yossarian is a fictional character in Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22 and its sequel Closing Time, and the protagonist of both books. In Catch-22, Yossarian is a 28-year-old Captain (later Major) and the bombardier of a North American B-25 Mitchell in the 256th Bombardment Squadron of the Army Air Forces, stationed on the small island of Pianosa off the Italian mainland during World War II. Yossarian's exploits are based on the experiences of the author; Heller was also a bombardier in the USAAF, stationed on an island off the coast of Italy during World War II. Yossarian is described as a tall, broad, Assyrian man, who frequently causes panic by starting rumors or orchestrating events that either keep him out of direct battle or somehow usurp authority. Examples of these exploits include poisoning the mess hall with bath soap, accepting an award while naked, and altering a map so a mission will be canceled.

Tappman (also called R. O. Shipman in some editions) is a naïve Anabaptist minister from Kenosha, Wisconsin. As he is extremely timid and terrified of authority, the chaplain is tormented throughout the novel by his rude, manipulative, atheist assistant, Corporal Whitcomb. Easily intimidated by the cruelty of others, the Chaplain is a kind, gentle, and sensitive man who worries constantly about his wife and children at home. He is described as a man of 32 years of age with tan hair, brown eyes, and a narrow, pale face. His sister is a Master Sergeant in the Marines.

A full colonel, Chuck Cathcart is a group commander at the USAAF base in Pianosa and is obsessed with becoming a general. As such, he does whatever it takes to please his superiors, in particular by repeatedly raising the number of missions in a tour of duty beyond norms. Ironically, this provokes no reaction from the generals, who are apathetic to the war efforts, but becomes the bane of Yossarian's and Hungry Joe's lives. He is a 36-year-old man with short graying curly hair, a tall yet beefy build, extremely pale skin, and a host of self-confidence issues. He is described as mildly conceited, and yet is found to be constantly comparing himself to others, often finding himself displeased with the conclusions he reaches. Cathcart is also obsessed with forging and maintaining a public image of extreme masculinity, most likely due to his apparent insecurity.

Dr. Dan Daneeka is the squadron flight surgeon and a friend of Yossarian. Doc Daneeka's main motivation is for his own welfare, whether that be making money or protecting his own life. He generally forgets his moral duty as a physician except in the most extreme of circumstances. Doc Daneeka resents the military, both for drafting him and for finding out he lied on his drafting papers. He is constantly terrified of being transferred to the far more dangerous Pacific theater. Afraid of flying, he often has himself falsely listed as being aboard flights; this practice comes back to bite him when McWatt crashes a plane Daneeka is supposedly aboard and he is pronounced dead.

First Lieutenant Milo Minderbinder is the mess officer at the Pianosa USAAF base. He is a highly entrepreneurial black marketeer who becomes obsessed with expanding mess operations and trading goods for the profits of the syndicate (in which he and everyone else "has a share"). Milo is both a satire of the modern businessman and a living representation of capitalism, as he has no allegiance to any country, person, or principle unless it generates profit. Milo even begins contracting missions for the Germans, fighting on both sides in the battle at Orvieto and bombing his own squadron. He is capable of extreme feats of self-justification to the point of psychopathy.

Nately's family originally enlisted him to serve in the USAAF, believing the war would be over by the time he finished his training and that he would mingle with "gentlemen." Therefore, Nately could gain the pride of enlisting without actually having to fight. Instead, he mingled with Yossarian and Dunbar, and was sent overseas. He lives in a tent with McWatt next to Havermeyer's tent. His most notable contribution in the book is his involvement with a whore, "Nately's Whore," who is for the most part uninterested in him until he saves her from a sleepless night with generals, thus giving her an opportunity to get some sleep. He is often filled with American optimism, shown by his desire to marry his whore and send her kid sister to a respected college in the United States. He is killed on a mission when Dobbs flies his plane into Nately's. Nately's Whore blames Yossarian and spends the rest of the book trying to murder him.

A bomber pilot in the squadron who is continually being shot down and ditching in the sea. Described as "a warm-hearted, simple-minded gnome," Orr is the only person in the group considered to be crazier than his good friend Yossarian, with whom he shares a tent. Orr appears to take great joy in thoroughly confounding those around him by being completely nonsensical, though this later appears to have been deliberate. He is declared 'missing in action' halfway through the novel after another crash-landing in the Mediterranean, but it later transpires that he has intentionally rowed to neutral Sweden to escape the war. At this point, Yossarian realizes that Orr's constant crashes have been rehearsals for the escape plan, which inspires Yossarian to finally flee the army.