Chapter 17: The Soldier in White

In Chapter 17 of Catch-22, Yossarian is in the hospital where he finds death to be more tolerable than the memories he has of a bomb run where Snowden was dying in the back of the plane. He and Dunbar are confused by the soldier in white, who is entirely covered in plaster bandages. The men in the hospital discuss how death can be unjust and how some men become sick while others do not. Yossarian and Hungry Joe compile lists of fatal diseases that they claim to have in an attempt to get grounded, but Doc Daneeka refuses to ground them and instead says he will consider helping Yossarian once he has flown his fifty-five missions.