Milo Minderbinder Character Analysis in Catch-22

The group’s mess officer, Milo ends up starting a business—M & M Enterprises—that delivers black-market goods throughout the Mediterranean. It is not clear how this business works, since Milo appears to be selling goods at a loss, but he claims “everyone” in the group “gets a share.” Milo eventually begins dealing with the Germans to expand his business, and it is revealed he has been named mayor or leader of various countries throughout the Mediterranean region.

Milo Minderbinder Quotes in Catch-22

The Catch-22 quotes below are all either spoken by Milo Minderbinder or refer to Milo Minderbinder. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

But Yossarian still didn’t understand how Milo could buy eggs in Malta for seven cents apiece and sell them at a profit in Pianosa for five cents.

Related Characters: ,

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Page Number and Citation: 76

Explanation and Analysis:

But the Germans are also members in good standing of the syndicate, and it’s my job to protect their rights as shareholders. . . . Don’t you understand that I have to respect the sanctity of my contract with Germany?

Related Characters: (speaker)

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Page Number and Citation: 265

Explanation and Analysis:

No, sir . . . it’s generally known that you’ve flown only two missions. And that one of those occurred when Aarfy accidentally flew you over enemy territory while navigating you to Naples for a black-market water cooler.

Related Characters: (speaker), ,

Page Number and Citation: 382

Explanation and Analysis:

Milo Minderbinder Character Timeline in Catch-22

The timeline below shows where the character Milo Minderbinder appears in Catch-22. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Yossarian is introduced to Milo Minderbinder, a new pilot recently assigned to the group as mess officer (in charge of... (full context)

...it to prostitutes in Rome, who sell it to buy “cheap perfume and costume jewelry.” Milo is amazed by Yossarian’s story and begins hatching a plan for a business of his... (full context)

Milo learns that a CID man is investigating the group, to find the man who’s been... (full context)

Milo makes a complicated deal with McWatt, wherein he steals McWatt’s bedsheet and returns, later, with... (full context)

...Clevinger, the smartest man in the group and a Harvard graduate, does not understand how Milo can turn a profit in this way. Clevinger “knew everything about literature,” the narrator explains,... (full context)

...he is not in; if he is in, no one may visit. Major Major tells Milo he wishes to take all meals in his trailer. When Flume attempts to tell Major... (full context)

...has a conversation with Wintergreen, who is selling black-market Zippo lighters. They begin talking about Milo’s activities selling other goods on the black market. It is revealed that Milo has bought... (full context)

Milo’s business begins picking up—he flies to Malta and buys eggs for seven cents, to sell... (full context)

...says he will not help with the plan. Instead, Yossarian begins flying on missions with Milo and Orr, picking up items for the group’s mess. Milo slowly reveals the extent of... (full context)

Milo flies Yossarian and Orr to Naples, then to Sicily, where Yossarian spends the night with... (full context)

Milo attempts to explain his “syndicate” to Yossarian, wherein he buys eggs in Malta for a... (full context)

Yossarian flies with Milo and Orr to Palermo, where it appears that Milo receives a good deal of special... (full context)

Yossarian and Orr are then dragged from location to location by Milo, who is engaged in byzantine business dealings between countries and greeted as a hero in... (full context)

...after one week, Orr and Yossarian are exhausted from their travels around the Mediterranean. But Milo says it’s worth it: it’s a syndicate, after all, and “everyone has a share.” (full context)

Milo continues expanding the reach of his black-market smuggling business, “the syndicate,” explaining to various officers... (full context)

The syndicate, now termed M & M Enterprises (for “Milo” and “Minderbinder”), begins doing business behind enemy lines; it then uses Axis planes to transport... (full context)

Milo begins actively supporting German military activities: he orders US planes to bomb a bridge near... (full context)

Milo has purchased all the cotton in Egypt, but there is no market for it, and... (full context)

Doc Daneeka tends to Yossarian after Milo’s bombing of the group. This reminds Yossarian of the way Doc Daneeka treated him, with... (full context)

...to wear his uniform. He climbs a tree during Snowden’s funeral, out of grief, and Milo climbs up with him to talk to him. (full context)

It is revealed that Milo’s simultaneous bombing and defense of the bridge at Orvieto resulted in the death of the... (full context)

...man in the tree, while performing Snowden’s funeral service, and wonders who it could be. Milo mourns his terrible financial situation—he is overburdened with Egyptian cotton—and vows to fight for his... (full context)

Yossarian suggests that Milo bribe the US government to buy all this cotton at a low price. But Milo... (full context)

...that year, Yossarian punched Nately in the face—but he claims it was Sergeant Knight’s fault. Milo prepared an especially lavish meal for the soldiers, who became drunk and full, and began... (full context)

Milo has also been asking Cathcart for more missions. Milo, who has spent the past few... (full context)

Cathcart admits he’s only flown two missions himself—and the men in the group know this. Milo pretends that he is willing to take on an enormous number of new missions, and... (full context)

...the cartel proves so complex that Cathcart cannot begin to understand it. Cathcart instead tells Milo that, since he is needed to run M & M, he, Cathcart, will get someone... (full context)

Yossarian is going to Rome AWOL (absent without leave), and Milo chastises him for this, saying Yossarian is not a “team player.” Yossarian lands in Rome... (full context)

Yossarian goes outside and finds Milo, telling him that they must seek out Nately’s prostitute’s kid sister. Milo takes Yossarian to... (full context)

...aid kit to get morphine, but found that the morphine had been taken out—sold by Milo as part of M & M Enterprises. (full context)

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Milo Minderbinder Character Analysis

Milo Minderbinder Quotes in Catch-22

Milo Minderbinder Character Timeline in Catch-22

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