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Concept
Yossarian
Summary
Also covered in this article are the characters Snowden and Yossarian's tentmates.
Capt. John Yossarian is a fictional character, the protagonist of Joseph Heller's satirical 1961 novel Catch-22 and its 1994 sequel Closing Time. In Catch-22, Yossarian is a 28-year-old captain in the 256th Squadron of the Army Air Forces where he serves as a B-25 bombardier stationed on the small island of Pianosa off the Italian mainland during World War II. Yossarian's exploits have previously been thought to be based on the experiences of the author. Heller was also a bombardier in the Army Air Corps, stationed on an island off the coast of Italy during the war. Heller later documented in his autobiography "Now & Then" the elements of Yossarian which came from his experiences (specifically the episodes where Yossarian attends to Snowden during the Avignon mission). Heller noted that he derived the name Yossarian from a wartime friend and fellow bombardier, Francis Yohannan. Yohannan made the military his career, continuing to serve through the Vietnam War, placing him at odds with Yossarian's feelings towards the military and as noted in his obituary "(Yohannan) turned aside calls from reporters who asked if he was the real-life Yossarian." A possible source for Yossarian's narrative adventure and efforts to be relieved of his combat duties is Lt. Julius Fish, another bombardier and wartime friend to both Francis Yohannan and Joseph Heller.
Yossarian's first name is "John," but this is not revealed until late in Catch-22 when Colonel Korn says to him "Call me Blackie, John. We're pals now."
Catch-22 introduces Yossarian as an American soldier in World War II with Assyrian and Armenian heritage.
The exotic name "Yossarian" was chosen by Heller to emphasize his protagonist's detachment from mainstream military culture. Yossarian's name is described as "an odious, alien, distasteful name, that just did not inspire confidence." It was "...not at all like such clean, crisp, honest, American names as Cathcart, Peckem and Dreedle.
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