Chaplain Tappman and Aarfy are moral as well as personal opposites. The chaplain is humble, questioning, kind, caring, and easily intimidated. Aarfy is arrogant, self-assured, sadistic, indifferent toward the needs of others, and a bully.
The chaplain is a complicated man. On the one hand, he is spiritual and somewhat mystical. He is open to possibilities of reality beyond what most of us see, but he does have his doubts about ordinary reality. On the other hand, he can be rational and scientifically curious. He wonders if his religious beliefs are valid and feels lost when he suspects they are not. Aggressive men like Colonel Cathcart and Corporal Whitcomb easily intimidate him. Loud voices frighten the chaplain. Yet, in his own way, he is courageous; he tries to do right even when terrified by the people he must confront.
The incident at Major Major's office is an example of the chaplain's complicated character. Despite his fears, Tappman feels he must make an effort to speak out against Cathcart's elevation of the number of missions so he tries to meet with the squadron commander. The enlisted personnel ask him to enter Major Major's office since the Major is not in. Not understanding the commander's bizarre approach to office hours, the chaplain does so. But he begins to feel deceived by the enlisted men as he waits inside in vain. In his paranoia, he concludes that the men hate him, are playing a practical joke, and are outside the Major's door laughing at him. The only reasonable escape for the chaplain is out the window.
