The Literary Mystery of Catch-22's Hero
Joseph Heller clearly stated exactly which aspects of Yossarian were from his own experiences, and which aspects were not. As he says, “…Yossarian’s emotions, Yossarian’s reaction to the war in the squadron were not those I experienced when I was overseas". Click image to read more.
I began to wonder...if my grandfather's circle of friends inspired some of the characters, could my grandfather have also inspired a character in Catch-22's broad supporting cast? Heller stated that fellow comrade Francis Yohannan only provided the name for Yossarian and that "the rest of Yossarian is the incarnation of a wish.”
Francis Yohannan owned a pet cocker spaniel he bought in Rome, which became Huple’s cat in the novel...in order “to protect its identity”. Click on image to read more.
Yossarian Lived! 