Milo Minderbinder's Greed

The Greek philosopher Democritus once said, “It is greed to do all the talking but not to want to listen at all.” Democritus is describing how some people can become so wrapped up in themselves that they forget to acknowledge the world around them, and eventually neglect all other things taking place in their lives. They inadvertently succumb to drowning in their own greedy desires and lose touch with reality. In Joseph Heller’s novel, “Catch-22”, Milo Minderbinder is a perfect example of what Democritus was describing. He is the squadron’s mess hall officer, and gains much respect from his peers due to his persistence in maintaining a commendable cafeteria and ensuring that the squadron receives the best delicacies from all over the world. However, Milo’s intentions of pleasing his squadron eventually fade away as he is exposed to the black market of the food trade. He finds excitement in collecting and selling various cuisines to many countries, transforming him into a greedy entrepreneur. Milo Minderbinder’s desire for power over others becomes so great throughout the novel that he sees his actions as commonplace, showing that his conscience is absent or misguided while he makes his decisions. While telling the story of Milo, Heller gives readers a chance to delve into the mind of a man who transforms from good hearted man, to a successful businessman, and finally into a ruthless profiteer.

Milo begins the novel as a man who possesses much determination and strong-will in doing his job to the best of his abilities. It is evident that he has radical qualities, but they are not yet superficial to his peers or even himself. He becomes affiliated with a few companies in Sicily and Malta, mainly just to trade fresh eggs...

... middle of paper ...

...ail] to inflate because [he] had removed the twin carbon-dioxide cylinders from the inflating chambers to make the strawberry and crushed-pineapple ice-cream sodas he served in the officer’s mess hall and had replaced them with mimeographed notes that read: ‘What’s good for M & M Enterprises is good for the country” (317). After risking his friend’s lives by tampering with their plane equipment, Milo has made the ultimate betrayal by putting his love of money and success before the people that actually care about him. The fact that he finds the profits from fruity drinks to be of greater importance than his country winning a war shows that he has completely separated himself from his country and past life. He is now a man who relies only on himself, and seeks no acknowledgement from anyone. The idea of seeing himself succeeding is all that entices him anymore.