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:''Also covered in this article are the characters Snowden and Yossarian's tentmates.'' Capt. John Yossarian is a fictional character and protagonist in Joseph Heller's novel ''Catch-22'' and its sequel ''Closing Time''. In ''Catch-22'', Yossarian is a 28-year-old captain in the 256th squadron of the Army Air Forces where he serves as a B-25 bombardier stationed on the small island of Pianosa off the Italian mainland during World War II. Yossarian's exploits are based on the experiences of the author: Heller was also a bombardier in the Army Air Corps, stationed on an island off the coast of Italy during World War II. == Name == In ''Catch-22'' the author introduces Yossarian as a soldier in World War II with an Assyrian heritage, even though his name indicates an Armenian background because of the "ian" suffix. Yossarian is an Armenian last name, however. One suggestion is that Yossarian's first name is given as John late in the novel, with a throwaway remark by Colonel Korn: "Call me Blackie, John. We're pals now." The line is ambiguous at best, and may serve only to make Yossarian a more enigmatic character. The exotic name "Yossarian" was chosen by Heller to emphasize his protagonist's detachment from the mainstream military culture. Yossarian's name is described as being "an odious, alien, distasteful name, that just did not inspire confidence." It was "...not at all like such clean, crisp, honest, American names as Cathcart, Peckem and Dreedle." As to the origins of the name itself, "Heller admitted in later years that the name 'Yossarian' was derived from the name of one of his Air Force buddies, Francis Yohannan – an Assyrian – but that the character of Yossarian himself was 'the incarnation of a wish' (''Now and Then'' 175-6)."〔Scoggins, Michael C.: "Joseph Heller’s Combat Experiences in Catch-22"; ''War, Literature and the Arts'', vol. 15; pg. 223. United States Air Force Academy, 2003. ((available here ))〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Yossarian」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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