Man was matter, that was Snowden's secret. Drop him out a window, and he'll fall. Set fire to him and he'll burn. Bury him and he'll rot, like other kinds of garbage. The spirit gone, man is garbage. That was Snowden's secret. Ripeness was all.
In "Catch-22," Joseph Heller explores a profound and bleak view of human existence through the character Snowden. He highlights the idea that, when stripped of spirit and essence, a person is merely a collection of physical matter, prone to the same fate as inanimate objects. Heller uses vivid imagery to convey that once the spirit departs, a person becomes lifeless, subject to decay and degradation, akin to mere trash. This harsh realization serves as a commentary on the fragility and the ultimate insignificance of human life.
The idea of "ripeness" mentioned in this quote emphasizes the transient nature of life. It suggests that existence is limited and can be cut short at any moment, leading to the conclusion that one's essence is what gives life meaning. Without spirit, Heller implies that humanity has little value, as physical bodies return to the earth as refuse. Thus, the secret of Snowden encapsulates the harsh truth about mortality that underscores the greater themes of absurdity and warfare in the novel.