Character Analysis: Captain Black
Captain Black
-Captain Black is a naturally mean person who enjoys causing mental pain and anguish to others. Nately describes Captain Black the most negatively.
-Heller doesn’t reveal what he was doing before the war.
-Captain Black acts as the intelligence officer during the war. This means that he is supposed to be “more intelligent than anyone else in the squadron”. It is hard to tell if Captain Black is successful in this, but more than likely he is not because he ultimately fails to become a major.
-Captain Black’s primary goal is to become Major Duluth’s replacement as squadron commander after Major Duluth dies. He wants this job because there is no risk of flying, and thus no risk of dying associated with the position. He
still finds time to fulfill his secondary goal, which is to make the life of Nately less pleasant by sleeping with his whore and bragging about it. This is probably motivated by his cruel nature.
-His Loyalty Oath Crusade helps persuade Major Major to not see any visitors except when he is away. He hurts the morale of the squadron at times by gloating when the bombardiers must go on dangerous missions.
-Major Major being promoted to Major interferes with his goals. He reacts by calling Major Major Henry Fonda, and then by calling him a communist. Realizing the latter was a better insult, Captain Black set up the Loyalty Oath Crusade and required the men to sign an oath to prove their allegiance to the country. However, he doesn’t allow Major Major to sign one, proving to many that Major Major is in fact a communist.
-Captain Black’s fate is unknown.
-Captain Black’s Loyalty Oath Crusade satirizes McCarthyism from the 50’s. McCarthy accused people of being communists with no proof, and Captain Black does essentially the same thing. He creates his own evidence by forbidding Major Major to sign an oath. Both Black and McCarthy go overboard in forcing people to prove their loyalty to the country.
-While Captain Black was imagining, Colonel Cathcart was acting, and Captain Black was flabbergasted by the speed with which, he concluded, Major Major had outsmarted him. His great dismay at the announcement of Major Major’s appointment as squadron commander was tinged with an embittered resentment he made no effort to conceal. When fellow administrative officers expressed astonishment at Colonel Cathcart’s choice of Major Major, Captain Black muttered that there was something funny going on; when they speculated on the political value of Major Major’s resemblance to Henry Fonda, Captain Black asserted that Major Major really was Henry Fonda; and when they remarked that Major Major was somewhat odd, Captain Black announced that he was a Communist.
This shows that Captain Black invents a rivalry with Major Major and slanders his name as well.
-Captain Black is a naturally mean person who enjoys causing mental pain and anguish to others. Nately describes Captain Black the most negatively.
-Heller doesn’t reveal what he was doing before the war.
-Captain Black acts as the intelligence officer during the war. This means that he is supposed to be “more intelligent than anyone else in the squadron”. It is hard to tell if Captain Black is successful in this, but more than likely he is not because he ultimately fails to become a major.
-Captain Black’s primary goal is to become Major Duluth’s replacement as squadron commander after Major Duluth dies. He wants this job because there is no risk of flying, and thus no risk of dying associated with the position. He
still finds time to fulfill his secondary goal, which is to make the life of Nately less pleasant by sleeping with his whore and bragging about it. This is probably motivated by his cruel nature.
-His Loyalty Oath Crusade helps persuade Major Major to not see any visitors except when he is away. He hurts the morale of the squadron at times by gloating when the bombardiers must go on dangerous missions.
-Major Major being promoted to Major interferes with his goals. He reacts by calling Major Major Henry Fonda, and then by calling him a communist. Realizing the latter was a better insult, Captain Black set up the Loyalty Oath Crusade and required the men to sign an oath to prove their allegiance to the country. However, he doesn’t allow Major Major to sign one, proving to many that Major Major is in fact a communist.
-Captain Black’s fate is unknown.
-Captain Black’s Loyalty Oath Crusade satirizes McCarthyism from the 50’s. McCarthy accused people of being communists with no proof, and Captain Black does essentially the same thing. He creates his own evidence by forbidding Major Major to sign an oath. Both Black and McCarthy go overboard in forcing people to prove their loyalty to the country.
-While Captain Black was imagining, Colonel Cathcart was acting, and Captain Black was flabbergasted by the speed with which, he concluded, Major Major had outsmarted him. His great dismay at the announcement of Major Major’s appointment as squadron commander was tinged with an embittered resentment he made no effort to conceal. When fellow administrative officers expressed astonishment at Colonel Cathcart’s choice of Major Major, Captain Black muttered that there was something funny going on; when they speculated on the political value of Major Major’s resemblance to Henry Fonda, Captain Black asserted that Major Major really was Henry Fonda; and when they remarked that Major Major was somewhat odd, Captain Black announced that he was a Communist.
This shows that Captain Black invents a rivalry with Major Major and slanders his name as well.