Background information

Nately starts off the book as a 19-year-old lieutenant, who will be "twenty next January" and who came from a very rich and respected family. (In a flashback his mother reminds him that—in contrast to such vulgar upstarts as the Astors

Astor family

The Astor family is a Anglo-American business family of German descent notable for their prominence in business, society, and politics.-Founding family members:...

, "whose family, I believe, still lets rooms," and the "vulgar tugboat captain" Vanderbilt

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Cornelius Vanderbilt , also known by the sobriquet Commodore, was an American entrepreneur who built his wealth in shipping and railroads. He was also the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family and one of the richest Americans in history...

 -- "You are a Nately, and the Natelys have never done anything for their money.") His family originally enlisted him to serve in the Air Corps

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

, believing the war would be over by the time he finished his training and that he would mingle with "gentlemen". Therefore, Nately could gain the pride of enlisting without actually having to fight. Instead, he mingled with Yossarian

Yossarian

This article is about a "Catch-22" character. For the meerkat from "Meerkat Manor", see List of "Meerkat Manor" meerkats - Yossarian.Capt. John Joseph Yossarian is a fictional character and protagonist in Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22 and its sequel Closing Time...

 and Dunbar, and was sent overseas. He lives in a tent with McWatt next to Havermeyer's tent.

His most notable contribution to the book is his involvement with a whore, who is for the most part uninterested in him until he gave her some time to sleep. He is often filled with American optimism, shown by his desire to marry his whore and send her kid sister to a respected U.S. college. However, he is killed on a pointless mission when Dobbs flies his plane into Nately's. Nately's whore blames Yossarian and she spends the rest of the book trying to murder him.

A chapter later deleted from Catch-22 entitled 'Love, Dad' gives Nately's full name as Edward J. Nately III.

Film

Art Garfunkel

Art Garfunkel

Arthur Ira "Art" Garfunkel is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and actor, best known as being a member of the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel...

 portrayed Nately in the 1970 film

Catch-22 (film)

Catch-22 is a 1970 satirical war film adapted from the book of the same name by Joseph Heller. Considered a black comedy revolving around the "lunatic characters" of Heller's satirical anti-war novel, it was the work of a talented production team which included director Mike Nichols and...

 adaptation of the novel directed by Mike Nichols

Mike Nichols

Mike Nichols is a German-born American television, stage and film director, writer, producer and comedian. He began his career in the 1950s as one half of the comedy duo Nichols and May, along with Elaine May. In 1968 he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film The Graduate...

. He's mentioned as coming from Long Island

Long Island

Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

.

Nately's Whore

Nately's Whore is portrayed as a very tired prostitute who has no interest in sex, and would rather sleep. She is constantly hounded by her younger sister. Therefore, Lieutenant Nately (who is madly in love with her), cannot convince her to engage in a meaningful relationship with him. She engages him sexually, but it is cold and mechanical, for she refuses to spend any time with Nately without pay. Captain Black would frequently sleep with her to aggravate Nately.

However, when she finally does get some rest, she falls as madly in love with Nately as he did for her. Shortly after, Nately dies on a combat mission. When Yossarian arrives in Rome to deliver the bad news to her, Nately's Whore blames Yossarian

Yossarian

This article is about a "Catch-22" character. For the meerkat from "Meerkat Manor", see List of "Meerkat Manor" meerkats - Yossarian.Capt. John Joseph Yossarian is a fictional character and protagonist in Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22 and its sequel Closing Time...

 for Nately's death. She subsequently dedicates herself to pursuing Yossarian, and ambushes him several times throughout the remainder of the novel in an attempt to exact revenge for Nately's death by stabbing him. She finally succeeds in stabbing him in the side, sending him to the hospital. Another one of her attacks is the last, albeit minor, comical event in the book.

The Kid Sister

Nately's Whore's Kid Sister is another character in Joseph Heller

Joseph Heller

Joseph Heller was a US satirical novelist, short story writer, and playwright. His best known work is Catch-22, a novel about US servicemen during World War II...

's classic novel Catch-22

Catch-22

Catch-22 is a satirical, historical novel by the American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953, and the novel was first published in 1961. It is set during World War II in 1943 and is frequently cited as one of the great literary works of the twentieth century...

.

Her real name is never mentioned, and Heller only refers to her in terms of her relationship with her sister, even though she is specifically mentioned more than once.

In the plot of the story, she constantly interrupts Nately and his whore while they are having sex as the little girl wants to become a prostitute like her sister. Towards the end of the novel, Yossarian

Yossarian

This article is about a "Catch-22" character. For the meerkat from "Meerkat Manor", see List of "Meerkat Manor" meerkats - Yossarian.Capt. John Joseph Yossarian is a fictional character and protagonist in Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22 and its sequel Closing Time...

 tries to save her after she and all of the prostitutes have been thrown out of their apartment by Military Police

Military police

Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...

, and she takes on a symbolic meaning of purity being corrupted. Her whereabouts after this are unknown. At the end of the novel, Yossarian vows to find her and take her with him to Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

.