Question

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. That was Snowden’s secret. Ripeness was all___________.

Answer 1

This section happens during the last explanation of Snowden's death in Chapter 41 of Catch 22, a satirical war novel by American author Joseph Heller, in which Snowden's intestines spill out of his stomach and onto the ground.

Step-by-step explanation:

The death of Snowden leads Yossarian to understand that man is nothing but stone, without the spirit. Yossarian feels cold, that also enables him to identify with Snowden; Yossarian can see his own death prediction in Snowden's innards.

The last sentence of this paragraph, "Ripeness is everything," includes a small message of unity, suggesting that man can be truly alive for a short period.

Yossarian adheres to this kind of wisdom by trying to keep himself alive and then abandoning the army.