Catch-22 Book Notes Summary

Yossarian's refusal to fly has been a thorn in Colonel Cathcart's side - a real "black eye." Cathcart and Korn offer Yossarian the chance to go home, but there is a catch. In exchange for his discharge, Yossarian must glorify and befriend both Cathcart and Korn. They will send him home as a hero with medals and high rank if he promises to praise the colonels and glorify their reputation.

He must sell-out. If Yossarian rejects the deal, Cathcart and Korn threaten to court-martial him for abandonment during his unauthorized trip to Rome. Yossarian realizes the deal is selfish and a betrayal of his fellow men in combat, who must still suffer under the unfair multiplication of missions. He accepts the deal. Leaving Cathcart's office, Yossarian's joy is cut short when Nately's whore, disguised as a private, plunges a knife into his side.