Heller raises questions of justice as well as the conflict of good versus evil in this chapter. Chaplain Tappman is a good, responsible, caring man. Only in a world of distorted values would he be accused of anything improper. He lives in such a world.
The news of Nately's death nearly kills the chaplain. He is a very compassionate as well as a moral man, which contrasts with his assistant, now-Sergeant Whitcomb. Whitcomb is thrilled to hear of the deaths of the twelve airmen over La Spezia. He "chirruped exultantly" because twelve men killed means "twelve more form letters of condolence that could be mailed in one bunch to the next of kin over Colonel Cathcart's signature." Whitcomb hopes for an article in The Saturday Evening Post, praising his pet project, in time for Easter. He has no real concern for the men or their families.
The interrogation is harsh and arbitrary. Charges apparently are related to Yossarian's use of the chaplain's name when Yossarian was signing censored letters at the hospital. The chaplain, however, has difficulty getting his accusers to tell him what he has supposedly done wrong. They order him to sign his own name so that they can compare it to one of the hospital letters. When the signatures don't match, they accuse Tappman of faking his own signature: "You're lying again. . . . A person who'll lie about his own handwriting will lie about anything." They further accuse the chaplain of stealing a plum tomato that Colonel Cathcart gave to him, suddenly presenting Cathcart as a witness for the prosecution. All Cathcart actually says is, "Why should I give him a plum tomato?"
