Archetypes Observed

Rags to Riches

This "Rags to Riches" ideology
is reflective of Milo's rise to
fame and wealth, after being
just a mess commander, to the
leader to an international cartel.

Milo seemed like a minor character
who seemed like he wouldn't grow
to be anything other than a mess
commander with a few investments
here and there, however, we see him
to be very successful

This is similar to the story of the main
character in the movie, "The Greatest
Showman", where he goes from being
the son of a handyman to the CEO of
a large circus, making a lot of money.

It's lonely on the top

This "It's lonely at the top"
ideology basically means that
even after attaining wealth or
status, a person is unhappy
because of their lack of friends.

This basically illustrates Major
Major Major Major's story after
becoming the squadron leader.

After Major Major Major Major
becomes squadron leader, he's
no longer allowed to sit at the
same table as his friends and is
treated differently by the people
who were originally his friends.

This is similar to the story of Elton John in the
movie "Rocketman" where Elton has very few
actual friends once he has become one of the
biggest stars on the planet. Elton becomes
unhappy and becomes an alocholic.

The wise old man

The wise old man that meets with
Nately when he is in Rome

In this case, the wise old man who meets
Nately in Rome tells him that the US will
lose the war, and that Italy would win
instead, the man tells him that Italy is
winning the war because fewer Italian soldiers
are dying as compared to soldiers elsewhere.
Proves to Nately that Italy has always been
weak and so it has been taken over, without
a fight, and so lesser people die and
Italy continues to survive

The archetype of a"wise old man" is such that
the advice or guidance that he offers is sometimes
unwanted or not acted upon, the first time when
they receive it.

In this case Nately thinks that the old man is
crazy because of the blind patriotism he has
for his country and what it stands for.

Additionally, the old man reminds Nately of
his own father who thought that America was
weak and that they would lose the war

This is similar to the character of Gandalf in the
book "The Hobbit" who tries to force the Hobbit
to come on an adventure due to his family
heritage. The Hobbit however, chooses not to at
first.

It is common in movies, television shows and
literature that the wise old man is only there
for a short period of time, after which he is no
longer there as he serves no purpose in the
story.

The old man is only present in the story when
Nately is in Rome, taking time off, after which he
isn't seen again

This is similar to the character of Master Oogway
in the movie series "Kung Fu Panda", who appears
for a limited amount of time as he convinces
his counterpart Master Shifu to have faith in Poe the
Panda to be the so called "Dragon Warrior" and defeat
the antagonist of the story.

The trickster

The protagonist, Yossarian who uses his wits to
stay alive on the battlefield

Yossarian uses his unique skills of trickery and
deception in order to not fly missions and protect
himself from being killed on the battlefield.

It is common for certain tricksters to use their
tricks out of desperation and/or the situation
that he/she is in.

Yossarian has to use trickery and deception
because he is paranoid about dying and tries
to avoid taking missions for this reason.

Additionally he is made to fly much greater
number of missions that he wants to, instead
of being able to go back home, which he wants
to do.

This is similar to the character of Aladdin
who uses his trickery in order to steal
food so that he can survive and not
starve to death

Often times, tricksters will go to
any length to be able to accomplish
what they desire

Yossarian fakes that his communication
systems are not working, he moves the
bombing line to indicate that other
squadrons have already bombed
the target and gives his squadron food
poisioning just to avoid having to fly his
airplane

This is similar to the character
Fred and George, who go as far as to
put on an indoor fireworks when
they are trying to force an evil
professor out of Hogwarts