Chaplain Tappman

Last updated

Chaplain Captain Albert Taylor Tappman (A.T. Tappman) (usually referred to as "the Chaplain") is a fictional character in Joseph Heller's 1961 novel Catch-22 and its 1994 sequel Closing Time . In earlier editions he was called Chaplain Robert Oliver Shipman, but this was changed to Albert Taylor Tappman. Editions published in some other territories, notably Britain, have continued to use the original name. [1] Heller named the character after Charles Allan Tapman, a Penn State University boxer and Class of 1938 graduate that Heller met socially in the early 1950s.

Contents

Character overview

He is a naïve Anabaptist minister from Kenosha, Wisconsin, who is tormented throughout the novel by his atheist assistant, Corporal Whitcomb. While easily intimidated by the cruelty of others, the chaplain is a kind, gentle and sensitive man who worries constantly about his wife and children at home. He is the only character in the book Yossarian truly trusts, and the novel opens with:

It was love at first sight. The first time Yossarian saw the chaplain he fell madly in love with him.

He is timid and shy, and only through his friendship with Yossarian does he feel comfortable. In particular he enjoys the company of Yossarian and his friends at the staff club, until he is thrown out by Colonel Cathcart after General Dreedle is embarrassed by him.

Also of note is that the Chaplain and Yossarian have the first characteristic Heller-like circular dialogue in the novel, on page 13:

"You're a chaplain," he exclaimed ecstatically. "I didn't know you were a chaplain."
"Why, yes," the chaplain answered. "Didn't you know I was a chaplain?"
"Why, no. I didn't know you were a chaplain."

Name versions

In the original version of the book, Chaplain Tappman was called "Robert Oliver Shipman". [1] In the late spring of 1962, a man who shared Shipman's name and other personal characteristics threatened a lawsuit. Heller had never met the real Shipman and was initially concerned that changing the character's name could confuse readers. Nevertheless, the author agreed to change the name to "Albert Taylor Tappman" beginning with the sixth Simon & Schuster printing, the fall 1962 Dell paperback edition, and later printings of Jonathan Cape's British first edition. [2] In the 1970 film, the character is identified as "Chaplain Tappman" [3] and is apparently embarrassed by the unfortunate rhyme. British editions by Transworld retain the name "R.O. Shipman". [4]

C.I.D. investigation

The C.I.D. investigators that have been dispatched to the squadron are convinced that the Chaplain has been intercepting Major Major Major Major's mail and signing documents Washington Irving or Irving Washington. Yossarian has been abusing his duty of censoring letters sent home by the enlisted men, and signing those names to the letters he vandalises, except once where he signs "I yearn for you tragically. A. T. Tappman, Chaplain, U.S. Army". (Note that Yossarian's duties involve censoring enlisted men's letters; the chaplain is an officer.) This vandalism brings the C.I.D. down to the base.

Later on, Major Major Major Major begins signing those names to official documents, after he discovers that when he does, he never sees them again. Before they would always return with more attached documents to deal with.

These suspected acts of protest result in the Chaplain being interrogated at length by the C.I.D. investigators in the final chapters of the book. They find him guilty of all his "crimes"; since they're his crimes, he must have committed them; they also find him guilty of all the charges against him that they haven't thought of yet. Then they release him. This is actually worse than being jailed, because he never knows when he will be grabbed again.

When Yossarian tells the Chaplain that someone came into his hospital room to torment him with the words "We've got your pal!" the Chaplain replies. "Well, I'm your pal and they've certainly got me." At the end of the novel, all Yossarian's other friends are dead, missing, or, like Doc Daneeka, reduced to bureaucratic zombies. Only the Chaplain remains, and he has definitely been got (although in the last paragraphs he announces his intent to "stay here and persevere"). At the end of the play version, buoyed by Yossarian's escape, he happily writes home to his wife that he has punched Colonel Cathcart in the nose, is cheerfully awaiting his trial and following consequences, and that they think he is crazy.

Film

Chaplain Tappman was portrayed by Anthony Perkins in the 1970 film adaptation of the novel directed by Mike Nichols.

Chaplain Tappman was portrayed by Jay Paulson in the 2019 miniseries directed by George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Ellen Kuras.

Related Research Articles

<i>Catch-22</i> 1961 novel by Joseph Heller

Catch-22 is a satirical war novel by American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953; the novel was first published in 1961. Often cited as one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century, it uses a distinctive non-chronological third-person omniscient narration, describing events from the points of view of different characters. The separate storylines are out of sequence so the timeline develops along with the plot.

Capt. John Yossarian is a fictional character, the protagonist of Joseph Heller's satirical 1961 novel Catch-22 and its 1994 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 have previously been thought to be 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 the war. Heller later documented in his autobiography "Now & Then" the elements of Yossarian which came from his experiences. Heller noted that he derived the name Yossarian from a wartime friend and fellow bombardier, Francis Yohannan. Yohannan made the military his career, continuing to serve through the Vietnam War, placing him at odds with Yossarian's feelings towards the military and as noted in his obituary "(Yohannan) turned aside calls from reporters who asked if he was the real-life Yossarian." A possible source for Yossarian's narrative adventure and efforts to be relieved of his combat duties is Lt. Julius Fish, another bombardier and wartime friend to both Francis Yohannan and Joseph Heller.

First Lieutenant Milo Minderbinder is a fictional character in Joseph Heller's 1961 novel, Catch-22. As the mess officer of Yossarian's squadron, Minderbinder is an entrepreneur during World War II, "perhaps the best known of all fictional businessmen" in American literature. The Minderbinder character is a "bittersweet parody" of the American dream, both a "prophet of profit" and the "embodiment of evil". Minderbinder also appears in Heller's 1994 sequel Closing Time.

Doc Daneeka is a fictional character in the 1961 novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Doc Daneeka is the squadron physician and a friend of the novel's protagonist, Yossarian. "Catch-22" itself is first explained in the novel when Yossarian asks Doc Daneeka to excuse him from combat duty. Doc Daneeka is also the title of Chapter 4 of the novel.

Edward J. Nately III is a fictional character in Joseph Heller's satirical 1961 novel Catch-22.

Orr is a fictional character in the classic 1961 novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Orr is a World War II bomber pilot who shares a tent with his good friend, the protagonist of the novel, Yossarian. Described as "a warm-hearted, simple-minded gnome," Orr is generally considered crazy. His most notable feature is repeatedly being shot down over water, but, until his final flight, always managing to survive along with his entire crew. On his final flight, perhaps two-thirds of the way through the novel, he is again shot down into the Mediterranean, and is lost at sea. Only in the last ten pages of the novel does Heller reveal that Orr's crashes were part of an elaborate plot to escape the war.

Major Major Major Major is a fictional character in Joseph Heller's 1961 novel Catch-22. He was named "Major Major Major" by his father, as a joke – passing up such lesser possibilities as "Drum Major, Minor Major, Sergeant Major, or C Sharp Major". Once he joined the army during World War II, he was quickly promoted to the rank of Major due to "an I.B.M. machine with a sense of humor almost as keen as his father's". His full name and rank are the title of chapter 9. He has an uncanny resemblance to real-life actor Henry Fonda, which scholar Philip D. Beidler calls "one of the novel's great absurd jokes".

Colonel Cathcart is a character in Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22 (1961) and the novel's de facto main antagonist.

Captain "Aarfy" Aardvark is a fictional character, a major antagonist in the 1961 novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Aarfy is the plump navigator in Yossarian's B-25, noted for being oblivious to incoming flak, getting lost on missions, and his omnipresent pipe. His nickname "Aarfy" is an abbreviation of his surname, Aardvark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catch-22 (logic)</span> Situation in which one cannot avoid a problem because of contradictory constraints

A catch-22 is a paradoxical situation from which an individual cannot escape because of contradictory rules or limitations. The term was coined by Joseph Heller, who used it in his 1961 novel Catch-22.

The C.I.D. Investigators are characters in Joseph Heller's classic 1961 novel Catch-22.

<i>Box Office Poison</i> 1996-2000 series of comic books

Box Office Poison is a series of comic books by Alex Robinson. It was published in collected form by Top Shelf Productions in 2001. The story concerns the life and trials of a group of young people in New York City.

<i>Closing Time</i> (novel) 1994 novel by Joseph Heller

Closing Time is a 1994 novel by Joseph Heller, written as a sequel to his popular 1961 novel Catch-22. It takes place in New York City in the 1990s and revisits some characters of the original, including Yossarian, Milo Minderbinder, and Chaplain Tappman.

<i>Catch-22</i> (film) 1970 film

Catch-22 is a 1970 American satirical black comedy war film adapted from the 1961 novel of the same name by Joseph Heller. In creating a black comedy revolving around the "lunatic characters" of Heller's satirical anti-war novel set at a fictional Mediterranean base during World War II, director Mike Nichols and screenwriter Buck Henry worked on the film script for two years, converting Heller's complex novel to the medium of film.

Scheisskopf is a minor fictional character in the 1961 novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, who is promoted through the ranks from Lieutenant to First Lieutenant, Colonel and finally to Lieutenant General. Lieutenant Scheisskopf is the title of Chapter Eight and General Scheisskopf is the title of Chapter Thirty-seven. Scheisskopf is a parade-obsessed ROTC graduate and training officer at the Air cadet base where Yossarian and Clevinger are trained before being sent overseas. Later Scheisskopf is himself transferred overseas to General Peckem’s command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Heller</span> American writer (1923–1999)

Joseph Heller was an American author of novels, short stories, plays, and screenplays. His best-known work is the 1961 novel Catch-22, a satire on war and bureaucracy, whose title has become a synonym for an absurd or contradictory choice. He was nominated in 1972 for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Catch-22 is a satirical play by the American author Joseph Heller, first produced in 1971 and based on his 1961 novel of the same name.

<i>Face of a Hero</i>

Face of a Hero is a novel written by American writer Louis Falstein and published in 1950. Though out of print for a long time, interest in this narrative, dealing with the war experience of a B-24 tail gunner in Southern Europe during the Second World War was rekindled when it was suggested that it inspired Joseph Heller while writing his well-known war novel Catch-22.

<i>Catch-22</i> (miniseries) 2019 satirical TV series

Catch-22 is a satirical dark comedy miniseries based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Joseph Heller. It premiered on May 17, 2019, on Hulu in the United States. The series stars Christopher Abbott, Kyle Chandler, Hugh Laurie, and George Clooney, who is also an executive producer alongside Grant Heslov, Luke Davies, David Michôd, Richard Brown, Steve Golin, and Ellen Kuras. The series was written by Davies and Michôd and directed by Clooney, Heslov, and Kuras, with each directing two episodes.

References

  1. 1 2 New York Times review of Closing Time.
  2. ↑ Eller, Jonathan R. (5 April 2011). "The Story of Catch-22". Catch-22: 50th Anniversary Edition. By Heller, Joseph. New York: Simon & Schuster (published May 2011). p. 472. ISBN   978-1-4516-2117-4.
  3. ↑ Catch-22, Internet Movie Database. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  4. ↑ Heller, Joseph (1975). Catch-22 . London: Corgi Books. p. 288. ISBN   0-552-09755-1.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.