Milo Minderbinder, Book_Reports, College Term Papers.com


		Data Bases
		• Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism?

		Links
		• Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com

		Free Essays
		• Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers

Search Lots of Essays

Back to Subjects - Book Reports

Milo Minderbinder

Milo Minderbinder In the novel, "Catch-22", many characters are described based on the perception of Yossarian, the main character. Yossarian is a flight bombardier in World War II and the novel focuses on his interactions and conflicts with the men and officers in his squadron, the medical staff, and the whores in Rome. One of the men in the Twenty-Seventh Air Force squadron is Milo Minderbinder. Milo is an intelligent, but heartless, businessman that symbolizes the corporate business ethic. The first time Milo meets Yossarian, he tries to make a deal with him. Milo wanted to make Yossarian his business partner when he found out that Yossarian is entitled to all the fruit he desires. Yossarian refused to take part in Milo's business, but Milo still respected Yossarian. Milo eventually got Yossarian to give him a package of pitted dates for a quarter of a bedsheet. When Milo found out that some of Yossarian's friends sell some of the fruit on the black market, he became influenced. Like a businessman, he knows an opportunity when he sees it. This was the origin of M & M Enterprises. Like most corporations, M & M Enterprises had some competition. Ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen was selling lighters cheaper than Milo on the black market. Milo became threatened by Wintergreen, so by the end of the novel, Milo eventually merged with Wintergreen. Also, by the end of the novel, Milo makes partnerships with Colonel Cathcart and Colonel Korn. Milo shows an aspect of the corporate business ethic by merging with an enemy competitor in order to make more money. As "Catch-22" progresses, Milo's popularity spreads throughout the officers in the squadron. By the end of the book, all of the officers turned their mess halls over to Milo. Milo would make individual deals with the officers to bring them different types of food in exchange for a pilot and a plane. Even Major---de Coverley gave Milo permission to take a pilot and plane weekly to Malta and Sicily for eggs and butter. Soon enough, other countries rushed to do business with Milo. Like some major corporations, M & M Enterprises started from scratch and grew into a nationwide business. When a business is accused of being responsible for some type of crime, they will usually put the blame on someone or something else. Milo would always reply to an accusation by saying that what he did was for the good of the syndicate. According to Milo, since everyone has a share in the syndicate, whatever actions he took were for the good of the country. Milo even changed the slogans, "Truth" and "Courage", on the airplanes to "M & M Enterprises." When Snowden and Mudd died, Milo refused to take any responsibility for their deaths. Milo had an indirect responsibility involving the death of Snowden. When Snowden was dying on the plane, Yossarian tried to find syringes of morphine, but instead found a note stating, "What's good for M & M Enterprises is good for the country." Milo was the main reason why Mudd died. On Mudd's first mission, he was killed, because when his plane was in the German's range, Milo informed them and the plane was destroyed. Yossarian blamed Milo for Mudd's death, but Milo replied by saying that he has the right to benefit from the war and since the syndicate belongs to everyone, he can help everyone profit as well. Like many successful businessmen, Milo used his economic knowledge to gain political power. When Milo went on a mission with Yossarian and Orr, we found out that Milo is the mayor of Palermo because of his ability to make Palermo the third largest Scotch exporter in the world. When they arrived in Palermo, the people crowded the streets just to see Milo. They even had huge banners with Milo's picture on it. On the mission, we also found out that Milo has been elected mayor in several other cities. Milo is gaining all of his power by simply being the middleman in all of the syndicate's transactions. There was a time when M & M Enterprises faced some difficulties. When Milo went on the mission with Yossarian and Orr, he bought an entire crop of Egyptian cotton. Since there was no demand for the cotton, this almost caused M & M Enterprises to go bankrupt. In relation to the corporate business ethic, desperate times call for desperate measures. Milo decided to destroy the cotton by making a contract with the Germans to have his planes bomb his own group. It seemed as if Milo was going to be in a lot of trouble, until he showed the public the profit he's been making. Milo saved his business by killing and risking the lives of many people. There were some points in "Catch-22" that it seemed as if Milo was showing signs of a good heart, but instead he continues his heartless ways. In Chapter thirty-five, Milo actually offered to sell M & M Enterprises to Colonel Cathcart in order to fly more missions. Money and power caught up with Milo when he decided to make a deal with Colonel Cathcart instead. Milo would continue his business, while Nately and Yossarian were assigned to fly Milo's missions. In Chapter thirty-nine, Milo offered to help Yossarian look for Nately's whore's kid sister. When they went to the police station, one of the officers told Milo that illegal tobacco is being sold for a huge profit. Once again, money and power caught up with Milo, so he left Yossarian in order to obtain some illegal tobacco for the syndicate. One moral that Milo shares with a corporate business ethic is money comes before anything else. Milo showed aspects of the corporate business ethic by being cold-hearted and intelligent. As M & M Enterprises grew, he became wealthier and more evil. The more money Milo made, the more money he wanted to make. Every decision Milo made was one that benefited him the most. By helping himself and others along the way, he gained more and more economic and political power. He claimed that everyone owns a share in the syndicate. This may be true, but Milo is the only one benefiting from it. Bibliography:

Word Count: 1037