Catch-22 Passivity Quotes

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

"Maybe a long life does have to be filled with many unpleasant conditions if it's to seem long. But in that event, who wants one?"

"I do," Dunbar told him.

"Why?" Clevinger asked.

"What else is there?" (4.104-106)

The combat men have become so accustomed to the mad logic of war that they have become hardened . Dunbar no longer cares about suffering; he just wants to live a long life. He feels as if there is nothing else to live for – showing a depressing degree of apathy and cynicism about human life.

Quote #5

[…] Dunbar, who had resigned himself submissively to the idea that he must die someday. (5.92)

Dunbar no longer cares for his life. He has seen so much peril that he has resigned himself to it and no longer lives in fear. Curiously, this apathy gives him a sort of freedom and courage that Yossarian does not have.

Quote #6

The nightmares appeared to Hungry Joe with celestial punctuality every single night he spent in the squadron throughout the whole harrowing ordeal when he was not flying combat missions and was waiting once again for the orders sending him home that never came […].

Every time Colonel Cathcart increased the number of missions and returned Hungry Joe to combat duty, the nightmares stopped and Hungry Joe settled down into a normal state of terror with a smile of relief. Yossarian read Hungry Joe's shrunken face like a headline. It was good when Hungry Joe looked bad and terrible when Hungry Joe looked good. Hungry Joe's inverted set of responses was a curious phenomenon to everyone […]. (6.12-13)

Hungry Joe has become so used to flying dangerous missions that he finds more comfort in flying than waiting for his instructions to go home. He has become apathetic to the peril of flying and the inevitability of being discharged.