Captain Flume

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Captain Flume is a minor character in Joseph Heller's classic novel Catch-22.

[edit] Overview

Captain Flume is the squadron's public relations officer, until he moves out of the trailer he shares with Chief White Halfoat after Halfoat threatens to slit Flume's throat open from ear to ear. It seems that Chief White Halfoat's goal in this is to turn Flume from an obnoxious upstart to a lonely, paranoid, introvert, which he succeeds in doing. This is meant as a bad joke, but Flume takes it seriously and runs away into the woods until winter comes. He survives by the charity of others, namely Milo Minderbinder, but he otherwise lives outside. When asked what he does when it rains, he replied "I get wet."

Several times in the novel, people who are running from Major Major's office to Major Major's trailer encounter Flume. Usually, they are startled and angered and either threaten to slit his throat open from ear to ear (when he suggests the idea given by Chief White Halfoat) or he believes they wish to, in the case of Chaplain Tappman. The Chaplain runs into Captain Flume and asks who he is, and after discovering he lives in the forest, begins questioning him about his living conditions. He absentmindedly asks Flume where he sleeps, and Captain Flume replies "Oh No! Not you too!" (presumably believing that the Chaplain wishes to slit his throat) and retreats into the forest, much to the Chaplain's dismay. Thus, Captain Flume is extremely paranoid and believes everyone is trying to kill him.

Although a minor character, he is an important plot element the book:

  • He brings out the violent side of Major Major when Flume surprises him while running away, telling him about Chief White Halfoat's threat, to which Major Major responds: "If you ever scare me like that again, I'll slit your throat open from ear to ear!"
  • He brings about a prophetic idealism in Chaplain Tappman
  • He also spells the death of Chief White Halfoat, who sees his return to camp as a prophesy of his impending death of pneumonia, which he dies of soon after.

Mentioned once again briefly at the end of the novel, it appears as though Captain Flume has returned to his duties making press releases.

v • d • e
Catch-22
Catch-22
Named characters
Yossarian • Aarfy • Appleby • Captain Black • The Chaplain • Colonel Cargill • Colonel Cathcart • Clevinger • Nurse Cramer • Major Danby • Doc 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 • Sergeant Towser • Lieutenant Travers • Corporal Whitcomb • Chief White Halfoat • ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen
Unnamed characters
Important locations