Catch 22 question

[chum]

Dunbar...what was his crime that caused him to get "disappeared"? Seems to me Yossarian caused alot more trouble than Dunbar.
I have always wondered about this

[Kotetsu1442]

Dunbar's flipping out over the 2nd 'Soldier in White' was causing chaos and disturbing everyone else at the hospital, his 'disappearing' was a means of keeping him from weaking morale with this disturbance.

Did Yossarian ultimately cause more trouble in this sense? Usually, no he didn't, his antics usually just got himself out of missions, but didn't effect the efficiency of others in performing theirs as well. Sometimes, however, he did certainly cause more trouble but he ended up getting off better after making the right connections and being sent home as a hero to boost morale. Not really fair, is it? But hey, the government in this book isn't exactly know for it's fair or logical actions.

[chum]

Dunbar's flipping out over the 2nd 'Soldier in White' was causing chaos and disturbing everyone else at the hospital, his 'disappearing' was a means of keeping him from weaking morale with this disturbance.

Did Yossarian ultimately cause more trouble in this sense? Usually, no he didn't, his antics usually just got himself out of missions, but didn't effect the efficiency of others in performing theirs as well. Sometimes, however, he did certainly cause more trouble but he ended up getting off better after making the right connections and being sent home as a hero to boost morale. Not really fair, is it? But hey, the government in this book isn't exactly know for it's fair or logical actions.

He was not sent home...they were going to, but he ran away instead.

What was the deal with the 'Soldier In White'? Was there really someone in there? Was it a recording device?
It seems to me Dunbar and Yossarian had done much worse things during their frequent stays in the hospital...so why this time?

I have read this novel many times as it is one of my favorites, but I am always perplexed by a few things. Probably the authers intention!

[Kotetsu1442]

You're correct, I could have worded that sentence better. I meant to contrast the offer that the government was cutting Yossarian (after he made made pals with the Colonels) to the way that Dunbar was dealt with, not that Yossarian actually ended up accepting it in the end.

As far as the Soldier in White goes, I agree that it's supposed to in the end just be a perplexing part of the story. Obviously his person was used as a device to mock illogical and inefficient bureaucracy:
-verifying that he was alive by taking his temperature without any actual contact with him as a person
-the odd system of one unknown liquid pouring into him and another identical one draining out then switching the two each time the process completed (after the suggestion 'why not just connect the two jars and eliminate the need for someone to do the pointless task over and over' really made me laugh about what it was saying about inefficiency in "government work")
-people who's job it was to take care of the patient doing their job by polishing zinc, something both useless (zinc is an not shiny anyways) and completely unhelpful to the patient

But symbolism aside, what was up with the Soldier in White? I don't know, were they really just two separate people with burns making the need to be bandaged, the simple explanation that was offered but doesn't quite explain everything. Did was it really a single person who's 'death' was a lie for unknown reasons the first time in the hospital? Was Dunbar calling attention to some strange conspiracy (which would be a good explanation as to why this incident was treated with a 'disappearance')?

In any case, I would say that if these things leave you not just baffled at the behavior you do see, but wondering what you're missing and they're covering up; then as you said, you're probably seeing and feeling it exactly as the satire intends you to :-).