American Literature books summary
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intelligence officer. He wants nothing more than to be squadron commander. Captain Black exults in the mens discomfort and does everything he can increase it; when Nately falls in love with a whore in Rome, Captain Black begins to buy her services regularly just to taunt him.
Colonel Korn - Colonel Cathcarts wily, cynical sidekick.
Major de Coverley - The fierce, intense executive officer for the squadron. Major ----- de Coverley is revered and feared by the men--they are even afraid to ask his first name-- though all he does is play horseshoes and rent apartments for the officers in cities taken by American forces. When Yossarian moves the bomb line on a map to make it appear that Bologna has been captured, Major ----- de Coverely disappears in Bologna trying to rent an officers apartment.
Major Danby - The timid operations officer. Before the war, he was a college professor; now, he does his best for his country. In the end, he helps Yossarian escape.
General Dreedle - The grumpy old general in charge of the wing in which Yossarians squadron is placed. General Dreedle is the victim of a private war waged against him by the ambitious General Peckem.
Nurse Duckett - A nurse in the Pianosa hospital who becomes Yossarians lover.
Dunbar - Yossarians friend, the only other person who seems to understand that there is a war going on. Dunbar has decided to live as long as possible by making time pass as slowly as possible, so he treasures boredom and discomfort. He is mysteriously "disappeared" as part of a conspiracy toward the end of the novel.
Chief White Halfoat - An alcoholic Indian from Oklahoma who has decided to die of pneumonia.
Havermeyer - A fearless lead bombardier. Havermeyer never takes evasive action, and he enjoys shooting field mice at night.
Huple - A fifteen year-old pilot; the pilot on the mission to Avignon on which Snowden is killed. Huple is Hungry Joes roommate, and his cat likes to sleep on Hungry Joes face.
Washington Irving - A famous American author whose name Yossarian signs to letters during one of his many stays in the hospital. Eventually, military intelligence believes Washington Irving to be the name of a covert insubordinate, and two C.I.D. (Criminal Investigation Division) men are dispatched to ferret him out of the squadron.
Luciana - A beautiful girl Yossarian meets, sleeps with, and falls in love with during a brief period in Rome.
Mudd - Generally referred to as "the dead man in Yossarians tent," Mudd was a squadron member who was killed in action before he could be processed as an official member of the squadron. As a result, he is listed as never having arrived, and no one has the authority to move his belongings out of Yossarians tent.
Lieutenant Scheisskopf - Later Colonel Scheisskopf and eventually General Scheisskopf. He helps train Yossarians squadron in America and shows an unsettling passion for elaborate military parades. ("Scheisskopf" is German for "shithead.")
The Soldier in White - A body completely covered with bandages in Yossarian and Dunbars ward in the Pianosa hospital.
Snowden - The young gunner whose death over Avignon shattered Yossarians courage and opened his eyes to the madness of the war. Snowden died in Yossarians arms with his entrails splattered all over Yossarians uniform, a trauma which is gradually revealed throughout the novel.
Corporal Whitcomb - Later Sergeant Whitcomb, the chaplains atheist assistant. Corporal Whitcomb hates the chaplain for holding back his career, and makes the chaplain a suspect in the Washington Irving scandal.
ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen - The mail clerk at the Twenty-Seventh Air Force Headquarters, Wintergreen is able to intercept and forge documents, and thus wields enormous power in the Air Force. He continually goes AWOL (Absent Without Leave), and is continually punished with loss of rank.
General Peckem - The ambitious special operations general who plots incessantly to take over General Dreedles position.
Kid Sampson - A pilot in the squadron. Kid Sampson is sliced in half by McWatts propeller when McWatt jokingly buzzes the beach with his plane.
Lieutenant Colonel Korn - Colonel Cathcarts wily, condescending sidekick.
Colonel Moodus - General Dreedles son-in-law. General Dreedle despises Colonel Moodus, and enjoys watching Chief White Halfoat bust him in the nose.
Flume - Chief White Halfoats old roommate who is so afraid of having his throat slit while he sleeps that he has taken to living in the forest.
Dori Duz - A friend of Scheisskopfs wife. Together, they sleep with all the men training under him while he is stationed in the U.S.
The Catcher in the Rye
Chapter One:
The Catcher in the Rye begins with the statement by the narrator, Holden Caulfield, that he will not tell about his "lousy" childhood and "all that David Copperfield kind of crap" because such details bore him. He describes his parents as nice, but "touchy as hell." Instead, Holden vows to tell about what happened to him around last Christmas, before he had to take it easy. He also mentions his brother, D.B., who is nearby in Hollywood "being a prostitute." Holden was a student at Pencey Prep in Agerstown, Pennsylvania, and he mocks their advertisements, which claim to have been molding boys into clear-thinking young men since 1888. Holden begins his story during the Saturday of the football game with Saxon Hall, which was supposed to be a very big deal at Pencey. Selma Thurmer, the daughter of the headmaster, is at the game. Although she is unattractive and a bit pathetic, to Holden she seems nice enough, for she does not lavish praise upon her father. Holden, the manager of the fencing team, had just returned from New York with the team. Although they were supposed to have a meet with the McBurney School, Holden left the foils on the subway. The fencing team was angry at Holden, but he thought the entire event was funny in a way. Holden does not attend the football game, instead choosing to say goodbye to Spencer, his history teacher, who knew that Holden was not coming back to Pencey. Holden had recently been expelled for failing four classes.
Chapter Two:
Holden finds the Spencers house somewhat depressing, smelling of Vicks Nose Drops and clearly indicating the old age of its inhabitants. Mr. Spencer sits in a ratty old bathrobe, and asks Holden to sit down. Holden tells him how Dr. Thurmer told him about how "life is a game" and you should "play it according to the rules" when he expelled him. Mr. Spencer tells him that Dr. Thurmer was correct, and Holden agrees with him, but thinks instead that life is only a game if you are on the right side. Holden tells Mr. Spencer that his parents will be upset, for this is his fourth private school so far. Holden tells that, at sixteen, he is over six feet tall and has some gray hair, but still acts like a child, as others often tell him. Spencer says that he met with Holdens parents, who are "grand" people, but Holden dismisses that word as "phony." Spencer then tells Holden that he failed him in History because he knew nothing, and even reads his exam essay about the Egyptians to him. At the end of the exam, Holden left a note for Mr. Spencer, admitting that he is not interested in the Egyptians, despite Spencers interesting lectures, and that he will accept if Mr. Spencer fails him. As Holden and Mr. Spencer continue to talk, Holdens mind wanders; he thinks about ice skating in Central Park. When Mr. Spencer asks why Holden quit Elkton Hills, he tells Mr. Spencer that it is a long story, but explains in narration that the people there were phonies. He mentions the particular quality of the headmaster, Mr. Haas, who would be charming toward everyone but the "funny-looking parents." Holden claims he has little interest in the future, and assures Mr. Spencer that he is just going through a phase. As Holden leaves, he hears Mr. Spencer say "good luck," a phrase that he particularly loathes.
Chapter Three:
Holden claims that he is the most terrific liar one could meet. He admits that he lied to Spencer by telling him that he had to go to the gym. At Pencey, Holden lives in the Ossenburger Memorial Wing of the new dorms. Ossenburger is a wealthy undertaker who graduated from the school; Holden tells how false Ossenburger seemed when he gave a speech exalting faith in Jesus and how another student farted during the ceremony. Holden returns to his room, where he puts on a red hunting hat they he bought in New York. Holden discusses the books that he likes to read: he prefers Ring Lardner, but is now reading Dinesens Out of Africa. Ackley, a student whose room is connected to Holdens, barges in on Holden. Holden describes Ackley as having a terrible personality and an even worse complexion. Holden tries to ignore him, then pretends that he is blind to annoy Ackley. Ackley cuts his nails right in front of Holden, and asks about Ward Stradlater, Holdens roommate. Ackley claims that he hates Stradlater, that "goddamn sonuvabitch," but Holden tells Ackley that he hates Stradlater for the simple reason that Stradlater told him that he should actually brush his teeth. Holden defends Stradlater, claiming that he is