Appleby and Yossarian

The relationship between Appleby and Yossarian is a study in irreconcilable opposites, a microcosm of the larger conflict between institutional conformity and individual rebellion that drives the novel. Appleby, a fair-haired boy from Iowa, is everything Yossarian is not: a natural athlete, a superhuman ping-pong player, and a true believer in the official values of God, Motherhood, and the American Way of Life, without ever thinking about any of them. Yossarian, by contrast, is a cynical, terrified bombardier who sees the war as a conspiracy to kill him and who has lost all faith in the system. Their mutual hatred is immediate and instinctive, a clash of temperaments that no amount of shared experience can bridge.

Origins of Antagonism: The Ping-Pong Table and the Fistfight

The first major confrontation between Appleby and Yossarian occurs in the officers' club, where Yossarian, unable to find a machine gun to mow down the singing officers, vents his frustration by stomping on a ping-pong ball. Appleby, who never loses a point at ping-pong, is the embodiment of the effortless competence Yossarian resents. The simmering hostility boils over during a game when Orr, Yossarian's tentmate, gets tipsy on gin and juice and, after Appleby smashes back his first five serves, hurls his paddle at Appleby, smashing open his forehead. Orr then leaps onto the table and lands with both feet in Appleby's face. As Orr is held off the ground by Appleby, Yossarian steps forward and takes Orr away. Appleby, as large and strong as Yossarian, swings at him as hard as he can, starting a fistfight that is broken up by the ensuing chaos. This brawl, which leads to Chief White Halfoat punching Colonel Moodus and General Dreedle ordering the chaplain thrown out of the club, establishes the personal enmity between the two men as a catalyst for wider disorder.

The Flies in Appleby's Eyes: A Clash of Perceptions

Yossarian's antagonism toward Appleby is not merely physical but philosophical. Orr tells Yossarian that Appleby has flies in his eyes, which is why he cannot see things as they really are. Yossarian, taking this as a literal truth, decides to do Appleby a good deed and warns him, "Appleby, you've got flies in your eyes." Appleby, thrown into confusion, asks Havermeyer to check, but Havermeyer, after peering closely, sees only peanut brittle crumbs on his own face. This absurd episode highlights the fundamental difference in their perceptions: Yossarian sees a world of hidden dangers and irrational systems, while Appleby sees only the surface of things, a world of clear rules and straightforward competition. Appleby's inability to see the "flies" is a metaphor for his inability to grasp the absurdity and corruption of the war they are fighting.

The Atabrine Incident and the Chain of Command

The conflict extends beyond personal animosity to a clash over duty and authority. During the flight overseas, Appleby, a stickler for regulations, orders Kraft to order Yossarian to take his Atabrine tablets after the two had stopped speaking. This incident, part of the "Splendid Atabrine Insurrection," demonstrates Appleby's rigid adherence to protocol, even when it is petty and counterproductive. Yossarian's refusal to take the pills is an early act of rebellion against the mindless obedience Appleby represents. Later, when Yossarian refuses to fly more missions, Appleby, in a rare moment of doubt, tells Colonel Korn and Colonel Cathcart that he does not think they ought to make Yossarian fly. The colonels are disappointed in him, and Appleby, confused, reports back to Yossarian, admitting he is not happy about flying so many missions either. This moment shows a crack in Appleby's unwavering faith, a fleeting recognition that Yossarian's position might have merit, even as he remains trapped by his own conditioning.

Thematic Significance: The System vs. The Individual

Appleby and Yossarian are not merely personal enemies; they are ideological opposites. Appleby is the perfect product of the system: competent, obedient, and unthinking. He is the kind of man who makes the war machine run smoothly, who never questions an order, and who believes that winning at ping-pong is a meaningful achievement. Yossarian is the system's nightmare: a man who sees through its lies, who refuses to sacrifice himself for its goals, and who insists on his own survival as the only meaningful objective. Their relationship illustrates the novel's central critique of institutional power: that it rewards and promotes men like Appleby, whose very competence and conformity make them complicit in the machinery of death, while it persecutes and tries to destroy men like Yossarian, who have the courage to say no. In the end, Appleby's grudging respect for Yossarian's stand is a testament to the power of individual conscience, even as it fails to move him to action.