The Texan

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The Texan is a minor fictional character in the classic novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, and is the title for Chapter 1.

Contents

[edit] Character introduction

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Yossarian and Dunbar meet the Texan on his admission to their hospital ward, in the first chapter of the novel. He is good natured and friendly, so much so that none of the patients can stand him, and in less than ten days the whole ward returns back to duty with the exception of the first C.I.D. Investigator who has caught pneumonia while on the ward.

[edit] Biographical summary

[edit] Actions in "Catch-22"

The Texan donates his opinions to any who will listen. He is patriotic, which annoys all the patients and a fact that Yossarian and Dunbar mock him for. He believes passionately that "people of means" (decent folk) should get more votes than "people without means" (drifters, whores, criminals, degenerates, atheists and indecent folk).

He is the only patient who will talk to the Soldier in White, and when the Soldier in White dies, Yossarian and Dunbar accuse the Texan of murder. They carry on to assert that the Texan murdered the Soldier in White because he was a "nigger", and the Texan shows his racism when he replies:

"You fellas are crazy... they don't allow niggers in here. They got a special place for niggers."

[edit] Sources, references, external links, quotations

Catch-22 quotes from Wikiquote

  Catch-22
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Catch-22
Catch-22 | sequel Closing Time | author Joseph Heller | Catch-22 (film) | Catch-22 (logic)
Named Characters
Yossarian | Aarfy | Appleby | Captain Black | The Chaplain | Colonel Cargill | Colonel Cathcart | Clevinger | Nurse Cramer | Major Danby | Doc Daneeka | Mrs. Daneeka | Major —— de Coverley | General Dreedle | Dobbs | Nurse Duckett | Dunbar | Dori Duz | Lieutenant Engle | Captain Flume | Gus & Wes | Havermeyer | Huple | Hungry Joe | Kid Sampson | Sergeant Knight | Corporal Kolodny | Colonel Korn | Kraft | Luciana | Major Major Major Major | McWatt | Michaela | Milo Minderbinder | Colonel Moodus | Mudd (aka the Dead Man in Yossarian's tent) | Nately | Orr | General Peckem | Piltchard & Wren | Major Sanderson | Lieutenant/General Scheisskopf | Mrs Scheisskopf | Corporal Snark | Snowden | The Soldier Who Sees Everything Twice (aka Giuseppe) | Dr. Stubbs | The Texan | Sergeant Towser | Lieutenant Travers | Corporal Whitcomb | Chief White Halfoat | ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen
Unnamed Characters
The C.I.D. Investigators | Dreedle's girl | The Maid with the lime-colored panties | Nately's Whore | Nately's Whore's Kid Sister | The Old Woman in Rome | The Old Man in Rome | The Soldier in white | Yo-Yo's Roomies |The small tail gunner who kept fainting (Later named Sammy Singer in the sequel to Catch-22, Closing Time)
Important Locations
Pianosa | Rome | Ferrera | Bologna