Chapter 17 "The Soldier in White" Summary

Yossarian enters and exits the hospital, only to return once more when Colonel Cathcart again raises the missions. Whenever he needs to escape, Yossarian claims to have a pain in his liver. Death comes to the hospital, as it does over Bologna. However, in Yossarian's mind, death is cleaner here, more humane. The narrative flashes back to the ward of the ill-fated soldier in white. Yossarian and Dunbar question the nurses about the identity of the mysterious soldier, theorizing that the cast could be empty, or that it might contain someone else entirely. The Texan prattles on to the soldier, insisting to everyone else that the chalky statue is truly a nice guy. The patients discuss the injustice of their various illnesses. In the grip of hypochondria, Yossarian ponders the many things that...