Havermeyer
Havermeyer is the lead bombardier of the 256th Squadron, a man whose professional competence is matched only by his personal peculiarities and his utter indifference to the safety of those around him. He is a figure of stark contradictions: a fearless flyer who never misses his target, yet a man who spends his nights in a private, almost ritualistic war against field mice. His presence in the squadron is a constant, grating reminder of the system's perverse values, where a man who increases the danger for everyone is celebrated as the best, and where his quirks are tolerated because they serve the ambitions of his commanding officers.
Identity and Habits
Havermeyer is a lead bombardier who never takes evasive action on the bomb run, flying straight and level from the Initial Point to the target and beyond, until he sees his bombs strike the ground. This practice, which he maintains with a kind of stoic pride, makes him a sitting duck for German antiaircraft gunners and, more importantly, holds the six planes in his formation rigid and vulnerable. He is a man of simple, almost childlike tastes: his constant companion is peanut brittle, which he eats in large quantities, leaving crumbs on his lips, chin, and cheeks. His most distinctive private ritual is his nightly hunting of field mice in his tent. Using a bar of candy as bait, he rigs a taut line from his mosquito net to the light bulb, and when a mouse nibbles, the light snaps on, blinding the creature. Havermeyer then watches the terrified mouse, waits until its eyes meet his, and shoots it with the .45 pistol he stole from the dead man in Yossarian's tent. The shot reverberates through the quiet night, a small, private act of violence that punctuates the larger, public violence of the war.
Role in the Squadron and Relationships
Colonel Cathcart repeatedly defends Havermeyer, ordering the men to leave him alone and declaring him "the best damned bombardier we've got." This official endorsement makes Havermeyer a target of resentment. The men who fly with him, including Yossarian, are enraged by his refusal to take evasive action, which increases the danger of every mission. Havermeyer, however, is oblivious to their anger, grinning and nodding at their protests. He is also a source of information and a kind of barometer of squadron morale. He is the one who reveals to Colonel Korn that the men in the briefing room are objecting to bombing a village, and he later hides in the bushes near Yossarian's tent to ask him about his refusal to fly more missions, revealing his own conflicted feelings about the war. His relationship with Appleby is one of mutual, if superficial, respect; when Appleby asks if he has flies in his eyes, Havermeyer peers closely and declares he does not, then retorts that he would rather have peanut brittle crumbs on his face than flies in his eyes. This exchange highlights the absurd, petty concerns that occupy men in the face of death.
Thematic Significance and Change
Havermeyer's character serves as a darkly comic embodiment of the military's perverse value system. His technical skill as a bombardier is celebrated, even though it endangers his comrades and is driven by a kind of fearless, almost robotic dedication. His nightly mouse-hunting is a microcosm of the war itself: a powerful, technologically superior force (Havermeyer with his .45 and light) preying on a small, terrified creature (the mouse). The ritual is a grotesque parody of the bombing missions he flies, where he is the one in the crosshairs. Havermeyer undergoes no significant change or redemption. He remains a static figure, a cog in the machine, whose only moment of doubt comes when he asks Yossarian if there is a way out for him, too, but he quickly retreats, citing his fear of disgrace and his desire to stay in the reserves for the five hundred dollars a year. He is a man trapped by his own limited ambitions and by the system that rewards his particular brand of courage, a courage that is indistinguishable from a lack of imagination and a profound indifference to the lives of others.
