克利夫人是个麻烦制造者，也是一个聪明的人。 Scheisskopf中尉知道，如果他不被观看，克利夫人可能会造成更多麻烦。昨天是学员官员。明天可能是世界。克利夫人有了一个想法，而Scheisskopf中尉注意到，有时有思想的人有时会变得非常聪明。这样的人很危险，甚至克莱夫文曾帮助任职的新学员官员都渴望对他做出可恶的证词。针对克利夫人的案件被开放并关闭。唯一缺少的东西是指责他。
(Clevinger was a troublemaker and a wise guy. Lieutenant Scheisskopf knew that Clevinger might cause even more trouble if he wasn't watched. Yesterday it was the cadet officers; tomorrow it might be the world. Clevinger had a mind, and Lieutenant Scheisskopf had noticed that people with minds tended to get pretty smart at times. Such men were dangerous, and even the new cadet officers whom Clevinger had helped into office were eager to give damning testimony against him. The case against Clevinger was open and shut. The only thing missing was something to charge him with.)
克服者被描绘成一个敏锐的智力的麻烦制造者，这使他在Scheisskopf中尉的眼中成为威胁。中尉知道，克利夫人的聪明才智会导致潜在的动荡，不仅在同胞中，而且可能在更广泛的规模中。个人的这种智慧通常会吸引审查和恐惧，尤其是从当权者那里。 Scheisskopf中尉的观察表明，人们认识到聪明人可以挑战现状，这使他们在等级环境中危险。
尽管对克利夫人有明显的仇恨，尤其是他协助的学员军官，但似乎对他缺乏具体指控。尽管军官渴望抹黑他，但缺乏可靠的证据突显了解决官僚机构内颠覆行为的困难。这种情况反映了叙事在“ Catch-22”中的荒谬和讽刺性，该系统努力证明其对威胁其权威的个人的行动是合理的。