McWatt

McWatt is Yossarian's pilot and one of the most paradoxical figures in the squadron: a sane, cheerful, and fearless young man who genuinely enjoys flying combat missions, yet whose reckless joy and inability to comprehend Yossarian's terror ultimately lead to a catastrophic accident and his own suicide. His trajectory—from whistling, card-snapping vitality to a silent, guilt-ridden flight into a mountain—embodies the novel's central tension between the love of life and the absurd machinery of death.

Identity and Introduction

McWatt is a short-legged, wide-shouldered, smiling young pilot who whistles bouncy show tunes continuously and turns over cards with sharp snaps when he deals at blackjack or poker, a habit that drives Hungry Joe to quaking despair. He wears fleecy bedroom slippers with his red pajamas and sleeps between freshly pressed colored bedsheets. He is described as "the craziest combat man of them all probably, because he was perfectly sane and still did not mind the war." This sanity—his lack of fear—sets him apart from Yossarian, Dunbar, and Hungry Joe, who are consumed by terror. McWatt shares a tent with Nately after Clevinger fails to return from a mission, and he is deeply impressed with Milo Minderbinder, even as Milo's schemes baffle others.

Life and Plot Trajectory

McWatt is Yossarian's regular pilot on many missions, including the critical second bomb run over Ferrara, where Yossarian guides him in over the target a second time and Kraft is killed. During the Bologna mission, McWatt responds instantly to Yossarian's frantic commands, flipping the plane over on one wing and screaming through the flak. On the mission to Avignon, McWatt is at the controls when Dobbs goes berserk and seizes them from Huple, plunging the plane into a terrifying dive. After the mission, McWatt helps Doc Daneeka wash Snowden's blood off Yossarian and drive him to the medical tent. McWatt is also the pilot who, on a training flight, buzzes the beach so low that his propeller slices Kid Sampson in half. This accident triggers McWatt's suicide: he climbs his plane higher and higher, releases two parachutes for the new pilots, then flies into a mountain.

Key Actions and Objectives

McWatt's primary objective is to fly and to enjoy flying. He loves buzzing Yossarian's tent as low as he dares, just to see how much he can frighten him, and he roars over the raft at the beach where the men swim naked. On a training flight to break in a new bombardier, McWatt follows the falling land down as fast as the plane will go, skimming over rocky rises and dips, terrifying Yossarian. When Yossarian, in a rage, slides both hands around McWatt's bare throat and threatens to kill him unless he climbs, McWatt complies but then looks at Yossarian coldly and says, "Boy, you sure must be in pretty bad shape. You ought to go home." Despite this, McWatt later winks at Yossarian and digs his knuckles playfully into his ribs, saying, "You louse. Were you really going to kill me up there?" He promises to stop buzzing Yossarian's tent, but he never misses an opportunity to buzz the beach.

Relationships and Conflict

McWatt's central relationship is with Yossarian, whom he pilots and with whom he shares a bond of mutual respect, though McWatt cannot truly understand Yossarian's terror. McWatt is also a friend to Nately and Dunbar, and he is deeply impressed with Milo. His relationship with Hungry Joe is one of antagonism: Hungry Joe yells at him for snapping cards, and McWatt crinkles his nose apologetically but always forgets. The most significant conflict is internal: after killing Kid Sampson, McWatt is consumed by guilt. He circles the field, climbs higher, and, after releasing two parachutes, flies into a mountain, choosing death over facing the consequences.

Change and Ending

McWatt undergoes a radical transformation from a carefree, whistling pilot to a silent, guilt-ridden man. The accident that kills Kid Sampson is the turning point. After the accident, McWatt climbs his plane higher and higher, nosing it upward in a slow, oval spiral. He releases two parachutes for the new pilots, then, after dipping his wings once in salute, decides "oh, well, what the hell" and flies into a mountain. His death is a direct consequence of his reckless joy and his inability to live with the horror he has caused.

Narrative Role and Evaluation

McWatt serves as a foil to Yossarian: he is sane, fearless, and loves the war, yet his sanity is precisely what makes him "crazy" in Yossarian's eyes. His death is a pivotal event that drives Yossarian further into despair and rebellion. McWatt's suicide also underscores the novel's theme that even the most cheerful and competent individuals can be destroyed by the absurd and arbitrary violence of war. His final act—a salute and a decision to die—is a tragic, almost graceful capitulation to the machinery of death that he had so joyfully served.