Captain Black

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the Captain Scarlet character see Captain Black (Captain Scarlet). For the cigar, see Captain Black (cigar)

Captain Black is a character in Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22. He is seen as a jealous, manipulative person whose sole goal in the novel is to irritate everyone else.

[edit] Overview

Because of the lack of risk involved in not flying missions, he presumed to take over Major Duluth's position as squadron commander when said Major was killed over Perugia. He was thwarted, however, by Major Major Major Major, who was appointed squadron commander by Colonel Cathcart.

Captain Black felt he had been cheated by the hapless Major and nursed a grudge that culminated in the Glorious Loyalty Oath Crusade. This was a system devised by Captain Black in which one must sign one or more loyalty oaths to do anything, including pick up maps and flak suits for combat duty, all while preventing Major Major Major from signing any at all. The crusade collapses when Major —— de Coverley waved away a loyalty oath that everyone was required to sign prior to being served food, and demanded with 'righteous indignation' that Milo "Give everybody eat!"

Captain Black is also known for taunting Lieutenant Nately about his sexual exploits with Nately's Whore.

Captain Black also constantly mocks his fellow countrymen at the Pianosa airbase when they are faced by dangerous missions, by constantly telling everyone to "eat his liver". Since he is the camp's intelligence officer, he is not on combat duty and can therefore maintain his gleeful attitude to the men risking their lives in the air.

Captain Black appears to represent insecure and jealous personalities who seek positions of authority by using methods of manipulation available to them, such as patriotism (the loyalty oath crusade). As Samuel Johnson once said: "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel."