Yossarian is definately psychologically disabled. He still has qualities of a hero but the war images that stuck to his mind completely changed him. He showed up completely naked to his medal ceremony because he refused to wear a uniform after Snowden died in his arms and bled all over his clothes. This psychological problems can cast a shadow over hero-like qualities. In today's society, we could never accept a person as a hero or heroine if he or she did something considered obscene or wrong to society's eyes. We usually label people's actions without having any background information on why a person would do such thing. Such behavior may be a cry for help. A hero trying to come out of a shell created by past events and experiences that turns them into something they are not, even if such thing only lasts for a moment.
Friday, February 8
The love of Heroes
We have already witnessed in "The Three Musketeers" the fact that heroes have a tendency of falling in love very easily. D'Artagnan felt great affection for three different women throughout the story and this kept leading him to more trouble. With Yossarian it is not different. He had just met Luciana, an Italian woman, and he "falls in love" with her. The difference in this situation though is that Yossarian has witnessed nothing but death and sorrow for the past weeks. So, for Yossarian any sign of affection shown by a person of the opposite sex can make him fall in love.
Luciana also shows Yossarian a scar of when the Americans bombed her hometown. This event makes him even more eager to leave the war and feel remorse for being part of something horrible that not only killed many innocent people but also hurt a loved one.
Luciana then parts, and they don't see each other again. Even though they only saw each other for two days, she touched Yossarian's heart. He felt good feelings that only a hero could have felt.
