[b]Joseph Heller
Why are they going to disappear him?
I don’t know.
It doesn’t make sense. It isn’t even good grammar.[/b]
Of course that gets less and less important all the time.
Man was matter, that was Snowden’s secret. Drop him out a window, and he’ll fall. Set fire to him and he’ll burn. Bury him and he’ll rot, like other kinds of garbage. The spirit gone, man is garbage. That was Snowden’s secret. Ripeness was all.
That and being in the right place at the right time.
You have a morbid aversion to dying. You probably resent the fact that you’re at war and might get your head blown off any second.
I more than resent it, sir. I’m absolutely incensed.
You have deep-seated survival anxieties. And you don’t like bigots, bullies, snobs, or hypocrites. Subconsciously there are many people you hate.
Consciously, sir, consciously, Yossarian corrected in an effort to help. I hate them consciously.
You’re antagonistic to the idea of being robbed, exploited, degraded, humiliated, or deceived. Misery depresses you. Ignorance depresses you. Persecution depresses you. Violence depresses you. Corruption depresses you. You know, it wouldn’t surprise me if you’re a manic-depressive!
Yes, sir. Perhaps I am.
Don’t try to deny it.
I’m not denying it, sir, said Yossarian, pleased with the miraculous rapport that finally existed between them. I agree with all you’ve said.
Rapport!
With someone!!
With anyone at all!!!
[just not so far]
From now on I’m thinking only of me.
Major Danby replied indulgently with a superior smile: But, Yossarian, suppose everyone felt that way.
Then, said Yossarian, I’d certainly be a damned fool to feel any other way, wouldn’t I?
You can never be too reasonable.
Every writer I know has trouble writing.
Trust me: Some considerably more than others. And not just here.
There is no disappointment so numbing as someone no better than you achieving more.
Worse, being famous for it.