The old man and Nately

The relationship between Nately and the old man in the Roman brothel is a sustained ideological duel that exposes the novel's deepest critique of patriotism, war, and the value of life. The old man, a cynical and adaptable survivor of 107 years, systematically dismantles every patriotic and moral principle Nately holds dear, forcing the young, idealistic bombardier to confront the possibility that his country, his family's values, and even his own willingness to die are founded on illusions. Their conflict is not merely generational but philosophical, pitting Nately's inherited faith in America's eternal righteousness against the old man's pragmatic, amoral wisdom that the only winning strategy is to survive by changing sides.

The Old Man's Philosophy of Survival

The old man presents himself as a living embodiment of historical adaptability. He boasts that he was a fascist when Mussolini was on top and an anti-fascist after his deposition, fanatically pro-German when the Germans were present and now fanatically pro-American with the Americans in Rome. He explains this not as hypocrisy but as the only sane response to power: "I am a very moral man," he assures Nately with satiric seriousness, stroking the bare hip of a buxom black-haired girl. His creed is that the real trick lies not in winning wars but in losing them, citing Italy's centuries of defeat as evidence that losing wars preserves a nation while winning them leads to ruin. He points to Italy's victory in Ethiopia, which gave it "insane delusions of grandeur" that led to a world war it could not win, whereas now that it is losing again, everything has taken a turn for the better. Nately, horrified, calls him a turncoat, a time-server, a shameful opportunist, but the old man merely replies, "I am a hundred and seven years old."

Nately's Patriotic Resistance

Nately reacts to the old man with bristling enmity from their first encounter, seeing in him a wicked, depraved, and unpatriotic figure who reminds him of his father even though the two are nothing alike. Nately's father is a courtly, impeccably dressed gentleman who believes in honor and knows the answer to everything; this old man is an uncouth bum who believes in nothing and has only questions. When the old man declares that America will lose the war and Italy will win it, Nately responds with lofty fervor that America is the strongest and most prosperous nation on earth and its fighting man is second to none. The old man agrees with taunting amusement, noting that Italy is one of the least prosperous nations and its fighting man is probably second to all, which is precisely why Italy is doing so well while America is doing so poorly. Nately guffaws with surprise, then blushes apologetically for his impoliteness, but the old man presses his advantage by asking how much longer America can really last, pointing out that Rome, Greece, Persia, and Spain were all destroyed. When Nately squirms and admits that "forever is a long time," the old man delivers his crushing question: could Nately say with certainty that America will last as long as the frog, which is almost five hundred million years old?

The Clash over Principles and Morality

The ideological battle reaches its peak when Nately declares that anything worth living for is worth dying for. The old man inverts this instantly: "And anything worth dying for is certainly worth living for." He then corrects Nately's misquotation of the famous saying, insisting that it is better to live on one's feet than die on one's knees, not the reverse. Nately, thrown into sober confusion, asks his friends for confirmation but discovers they have all disappeared. The old man roars with contemptuous merriment at Nately's embarrassment. When Nately asks if the old man has no principles, the answer is a flat "Of course not." When he asks about morality, the old man claims to be very moral indeed, but his morality consists entirely of adapting to whoever holds power. He reveals that he was the one who wounded Major -- de Coverley in the eye with a red rose during the triumphal entry into Rome, hitting him squarely in the eye with an American Beauty rose, which he thought most appropriate. Nately is appalled and bewildered that the old man cannot perceive the enormity of his offense, shouting that Major -- de Coverley is a noble and wonderful person whom everyone admires. The old man dismisses the major as a silly old fool who has no right acting like a silly young fool, and asks where he is today—dead, presumably, having risked his life for something as absurd as a country.

The Old Man's Influence on Nately's Love

The old man's corrosive cynicism extends to Nately's romantic life. When Nately, transformed by love, tries to reform his whore by forbidding her to prostitute herself, the old man intervenes with a defense of prostitution as a wholesome activity that provides fresh air, exercise, and keeps her out of trouble. Nately, exasperated, declares that from now on he forbids his girl to have anything to do with that wicked old man. The girl, rolling her eyes, replies "Va fongul!" and asks what he wants from her. The old man witnesses Nately's flowering love affair with insulting derision and refuses to admit that Congress is the greatest deliberative body in the whole world. Nately's final command—that his girl never even speak to the disgusting old man again—is met with her wailing confusion: "Again the old man? Perchè no?" When Nately explains that the old man doesn't like the House of Representatives, she cries out in despair, "Mamma mia! What's the matter with you?" Her kid sister provides the diagnosis: "È pazzo. That's what's the matter with him."

The Old Man's End and Thematic Significance

The old man's fate mirrors his philosophy: he dies not from violence but from something breaking inside his head, one minute living, one minute dead. The old woman reports his death to Yossarian with a gesture toward her head, and Yossarian, ready to argue, realizes it is logical and true—once again the old man had marched along with the majority. His death is as unremarkable and inevitable as his life was adaptable. The old man's function in the novel is to articulate the most radical critique of Nately's world: that patriotism is a delusion, that dying for one's country is absurd, that principles are luxuries only the powerful can afford, and that the only reliable strategy is to survive by bending with every wind. He is the voice of a Europe that has seen empires rise and fall and knows that America too will pass, and he forces Nately—and the reader—to confront the uncomfortable possibility that the willingness to die for an ideal may be less noble than the willingness to live without one.