Social Climbing
Aarfy throughout the novel tries to befriend Nately, as a means of getting in favor with his wealthy father:
- "he had already fallen truly in love with Nately's father and the prospect of working for him after the war in some executive capacity as a reward for befriending Nately."
The irony is that Nately actually sees his friends as Yossarian, Orr, Hungry Joe and Dunbar whom his parents would not be impressed with, but equally his parents would not like Aarfy whom they would see as a “climber”.
The girls upstairs and the cameo woman – protects them from the sexual advances of the officers, not for his own pleasure, but because he sees them as women connected to important men who could help him out after the war.
Read more about this topic: Captain Aardvark, Biographical Summary, Actions in "Catch-22"
Famous quotes containing the words social and/or climbing:
“Throughout the 1980’s, we did hear too much about individual gain and the ethos of selfishness and greed. We did not hear enough about how to be a good member of a community, to define the common good and to repair the social contract. And we also found that while prosperity does not trickle down from the most powerful to the rest of us, all too often indifference and even intolerance do.”
—Hillary Rodham Clinton (b. 1947)
“These are the warnings
that you must forget
if you’re climbing out of yourself.
If you’re going to smash into the sky.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)