Mother Night Research Paper
Chris Russo


     Over  the years,  such world-renowned  authors as  Mark
Twain and  J. D. Salinger have  shown readers how literature
reflects the era in which  it is written. Another author who
has   also  made   significant  contributions   to  American
literature  is  Kurt  Vonnegut,  author  of  such well-known
novels as Slaughterhouse 5 and Cat's Cradle.
     Vonnegut was born on November 11, 1922 in Indianapolis,
Indiana  ("Kurt Vonnegut,  Jr."). Vonnegut  attended Cornell
University in 1940 where he  wrote for the Cornell Daily Sun
("Chronology"). In  1943, Vonnegut joined  the United States
Infantry. He fought  in World War II for  the 106th Infantry
Division until 1945 when he  was captured by the Germans and
shipped to a  work camp in Dresden. It was  here in the city
of  Dresden  where  Vonnegut  witnessed the American/British
firebombing  that   killed  an  estimated   135,000  people.
"[Vonnegut] tried for  many years to put into  words what he
had  experienced during  that horrific  event...It took  him
more    than    twenty    years,    however,    to   produce
Slaughterhouse Five" ("Vonnegut in WWII").
     Slaughterhouse Five is Vonnegut's  most famous work. In
this book, Vonnegut fictionally  recreates his experience in
Dresden. However this book  wasn't published until 1969, and
he had published several works  before this. His first book,
Player Piano,  was published in 1952;  and his third, Mother
Night,  was published  in 1961  ("Chronology"). Even  though
Slaughterhouse Five  was Vonnegut's only  novel to re-create
his experience  in Dresden, a  strong anti-war theme  can be
found in his  earlier literature as well. A  fine example of
one of his works that fits this description is Mother Night.
The novel takes place in an  open jail in Old Jerusalem. The
protagonist introduces himself by saying, "My name is Howard
W.  Campbell, Jr.  I am  an  American  by birth,  a Nazi  by
reputation, and a nationless person by inclination, The year
in  which I  write this  book [is]  1961" (Vonnegut  17). In
first-person   narration  Campbell   accounts  stories  from
before, during and post World War II. The reader learns that
Campbell lived in Germany  before the war entertaining Nazis
as a playwright.  He and his wife Helga  had no intention of
leaving Germany once war became a threat. Campbell tells the
reader that in 1938 he  was recruited as an American special
agent who was to pose as a Nazi propagandist during the war.
The  reader  learns  that  this  is  the  reason Campbell is
currently behind  bars in; he is  to be tried by  Israel for
severe war crimes of spreading propaganda. However, the book
focuses more  on Campbell's life until  the scene returns to
the Old Jerusalem prison for the resolution.
     As   previously  mentioned,   Slaughterhouse  Five  was
Vonnegut's  first book  to  deal  directly with  the Dresden
firebombing. But  Vonnegut has always  had a strong  dislike
for war, and his novels reflect this.

         "He  alludes to  [World War  II] repeatedly  in his
         fiction, as  if compelled to somehow  come to terms
         with it if not erase it. Mother Night does not deal
         directly with the bombing  of Dresden- the raid has
         no part  in the plot- but  that in a sense  is what
         the book is about" (CLC 3:496).

     One of  the most interesting things  about Mother Night
is the way  the book reflects both the World  War II era and
the  author's  personal  reflections  and  opinions.  Mother
Night's historical content includes  the usage of characters
that  actually once  existed and  events that  actually took
place  during the  war. Vonnegut's  personal reflections are
exhibited through his satiristic view of life and his use of
sarcasm  in the  novel. A  perfect example  is when Campbell
talking with Dr. Paul  Joseph Goebels (historically the Head
of  the   German  Ministry  of   Popular  Enlightenment  and
Propaganda), and they are discussing the Gettysburg Address.
Goebels finds  the address enchanting  and suggests that  it
should be sent to der Fuehrer (historically Adolf Hitler who
served as  the head of  the Nazi party  throughout World War
II). A copy  of the speech is sent to  Hitler and he returns
a note to Campbell regarding the address as a "fine piece of
propaganda"  (Vonnegut 27-8).  This example  alludes to  two
historical people of World War  II but describes a situation
whichwas not  true. Hitler using  the Gettysburg Address  as
propaganda is symbolic of  the control and manipulation that
he tried to gain  over the English-speaking population. This
example  shows  Vonnegut's  use  of  historical  content and
satire,  therefore  it  verifies  that  Vonnegut's  work was
reflective  of  both  himself  and  of  World  War  II  era.
Throughout  the novel  it is  not difficult  to find similar
examples and observations.
     World War II, having a  huge impact on Vonnegut's life,
has quite a large role in Mother Night. And Vonnegut alludes
to  many of  the famous   names of  the war  throughout this
novel.  The first  of these  names mentioned  is Paul Joseph
Goebels. Campbell  actually first mentioned his  name to one
of his  guards in the  prison (Vonnegut 19).  Goebels, being
the Head of the German Ministry of Popular Enlightenment and
Propaganda is  actually Campbell's old  boss, under whom  he
daily  spread  German  propaganda  to  the English- speaking
world. The next  famous name that appears in  the reading is
that of Adolf Hilter. The  majority of the world most likely
knows  the name,  for it  is  one  of the  most powerful  in
history.  Next  mentioned  is  "Rudolf  Hoess, commandant of
Auschwitz" (Vonnegut  26). Auschwitz, of course,  was one of
the  largest  and  most  feared  German  death  camps in the
history of World War II. Campbell  met Hoess at a New Year's
Eve Party in 1944.
     So the first three  historical characters met in Mother
Night  are all  notorious names   of World  War II.  Why did
Vonnegut choose  to include such  dangerous people who  left
such  a negative  impact on  history? As  observed by critic
Jean E. Kennard, "Mother  Night is concerned with...the ways
men use and destroy each other  in the name of purpose" (CLC
12:612).  Perhaps this  was one  of Vonnegut's  purposes for
writing the novel.
     The  next  person  who  is  of  some sort of historical
significance is the Reverend Dr. Lionel J.D. Jones. Jones is
a fictional character,  but in the novel,  he is responsible
for the publishing of  the "White Christian Minuteman" which
was an "anti-Semitic,  anti-Negro, anti-Catholic hate sheet"
(Vonnegut  55).  Even  though  Jones  was  never  real,  he,
combined  with   mention  of  the   KKK  (Vonnegut  63)   is
representative of the hate  and racism exhibited both during
the war and during the 50's and 60's.
     One  of Campbell's  most significant  interactions with
a historical  character  is  when  he  meets  Adolf Eichmann
(architect  of  Auschwitz,  introduced  conveyor  belts into
crematoria, and was the "greatest customer in the world" for
Cyklon-B  (the  gas  used  in  the  chambers in German death
camps)). This interaction occurs  in 1941 when both Campbell
and  Eichmann are  on line  to get  their picture  taken for
identification purposes.  They strike up  a conversation and
Campbell asks Eichmann  a question. He asks him  if he feels
he  is responsible  for killing  six million  Jews. Eichmann
answers, "Absolutely not." Campbell  replies with, "You were
simply a soldier were  you-...taking orders from higher-ups,
like  soldiers  around  the  world?"  Eichmann  puzzled asks
Campbell if he had seen his defense. After Campbell replies,
"I haven't  seen it," Eichmann  says, "Then how  do you know
what my  defense is going  to be?" (Vonnegut  123). Vonnegut
makes a very important  statement through this conversation.
The Nazis had no defense for the crimes they committed.
     Vonnegut has always used literature as a way to express
himself. It seems that even though many of his novels may be
entertaining,  he  wrote  them  as  a  method  of expressing
himself rather than to please the reader. Vonnegut expresses
himself primarily through satire. As pointed out by literary
critic Clark Mayo about  his writing, "Vonnegut continues to
satirize    science,   religion,    politics,   sex,   man's
understanding, nationalism, and love" (CLC 12:622). Vonnegut
has a lot to say about  the world; and this verifies true in
Mother Night.
     There is one chapter in  Mother Night that almost seems
misplaced.  This is  the twenty-first  chapter entitled  "My
Best Friend..." (Vonnegut 89). The purpose of the chapter is
to explain why Campbell had  a motorcycle in his possession.
He tells the  reader how he had "borrowed"  his best friends
motorcycle  and  never  returned   it.  The  owner  of  this
motorcycle is the widower  Heinz Schildknecht, whom Campbell
knew  because they  used to  be Ping-Pong  doubles partners.
Campbell  recalls  one  night  when  he  and  Heinz had been
drinking and Heinz revealed  something to him. "'Howard-' he
said,  'I love  my motorcycle  more than  I loved my wife,'"
(Vonnegut  90). Vonnegut  is apparently  satirizing love  in
this example. With this chapter Vonnegut is saying, 'Society
is more concerned with material  possessions than it is with
the true love and compassion of another human being.'
     Vonnegut uses repeated themes  in his work. As observed
by  Mayo,  "[At  several   levels  Mother  Night]  is  about
pretending, illusion,  and multiple roles..."  (CLC 12:618).
Once  the  reader  reads  about  how  Campbell took his best
friends most  prized possession, he or  she may realize that
this is an  example of illusion or even  betrayal. Of course
the  most obvious  exhibition of  "pretending, illusion  and
multiple roles" is  the idea of Campbell as  a secret agent.
As noted by critic Tony Tanner:

         "Campbell is  a special 'agent';  but in Vonnegut's
         vision we  are all agents, and  the perception that
         we can never be sure of the full content and effect
         of  what we  communicate to  the world,  by word or
         deed, is at the moral  centre of [Mother Night]. It
         also carries the implicit warning that our lies may
         be  more  influential   than  our  truths..."  (CLC
         12:606).

     Aside  from  the  theme  of  illusion, Vonnegut's novel
satirizes some of the vicious  hate groups in society. Other
than the  Nazi party, Vonnegut  mentions the KKK,  the S.S.,
and  the  Iron  Guard  of  the  White  Sons  of the American
Constitution- a  fictitious hate group  composed of teen-age
white supremacists.  The reader knows  that Vonnegut is  not
supportive of  these groups because  of the strong  Anti-war
theme in the book.
     These examples reflect the  author's life- maybe not in
a physical  sense,  but  through  symbolism  and satire, the
reader  can sense  Vonnegut's  emotional  point of  view. If
nothing else,  Vonnegut wishes to stress  one specific point
in his  novel. In the introduction  of Mother Night Vonnegut
writes, "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful
about  what  we  pretend   to  be"  (Vonnegut  5).  Vonnegut
introduces this as the moral of his book.
     What  is the  purpose of  Mother Night?  Well, literary
critic Richard  Giannone says, "Mother  Night lays bare  for
[the reader] the mechanism of  the self-deceiving mind as it
desperately  tries  to  keep   up  with  the  uncontrollable
distresses of  life, which, for Vonnegut,  are epitomized in
the encompassing threat of  war with its senseless violence"
(CLC 12:622).  This novel was most  likely Vonnegut's outlet
to comment on war. This,  however, is not a typical anti-war
novel. Vonnegut's  unique style allows  the reader to  learn
historical information from World War  II and see inside the
mind of the author at the same time.
     Once again, Vonnegut's  novel historically reflects the
World   War  II   time  period   by  effectively  describing
characters and  events of that  era. The novel  reflects the
author's  life  by  expressing  his  current  views on life,
politics,  and  society,  his  personal  opinions,  and  his
emotions of  war and violence. As  mentioned earlier, a fine
example  of   this  is  when  Hitler   considers  using  the
Gettysburg Address, one of the most well-noted speeches from
American history, as a form of Nazi propaganda. Vonnegut was
also trying  to warn the  reader of the  horrible effects of
war.  His  style  is  most  effective  because  he uses such
a powerful  situation (World  War II)  and such  a realistic
protagonist  that  it  is  almost  hard  to believe that the
events in  the novel are  fiction. And if  nothing else, the
moral of Mother Night was  one which was both an observation
and a warning about the surrounding society. "We are what we
pretend to be,  so we must be careful  about what we pretend
to be."

Works Cited:
Campbell, Colin. "Chronology" Sep. 1997
      

Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 3. Detroit:
      Gale Research Company, 1975.

Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 12. Detroit:
      Gale Research Company, 1980.

"Kurt   Vonnegut,   Jr."   The   1996   Grolier   Multimedia
Encyclopedia.
      CD-ROM. Grolier Electronic Publishing, 1996.

"Vonnegut in World War II"
      

Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr. Mother Night. New York:
      Dell Publishing Co., 1961.

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