Throughout Mother Night, Kurt Vonnegut uses the characterization of Howard M. Campbell Jr., Resi Noth, and George Kraft, aka Iona Potapov, to suggest that humans beings become what they pretend to be, and that one’s perception of reality becomes reality for itself Howard M. Campbell Jr. pretends to be a Nazi. In the beginning of the book, Campbell introduces himself to the audience as “an American by birth, a Nazi by reputation, and a nationless person by inclination.” Right away, Vonnegut is characterizing Campbell as a person without loyalties. As Campbell narrates the story from an Israeli prison cell, the reader learns how he came to live in Germany and met a man by the name of Frank Wirtanen, a major in the American military. Wirtanen …show more content…
When the reader first encounters Resi, she is a ten-year-old nihilist growing up in wartime Germany who proclaims, “I’ll be better off dead.” She also tells Campbell of her love for him, but says that it doesn’t matter anymore, an indication that she does not care about this feeling that much. At the end of her life, however, she believes that Campbell no longer loves her, and takes her life because of it, saying, “All I have is love for one man, but that man does not love me.” Resi Noth was loyal to Russia, Helga Noth was loyal to Campbell. She pretended to be Helga, was perceived as Helga, and Helga became her reality. Iona Potapov pretends to be an American painter named George Kraft, Campbell’s best friend. Potapov is a Russian who is engaged by the Russian government to turn Howard Campbell over to Russia. Potapov smuggles information back to Russia about Campbell, and is loyal to Russia the whole time. However, Kraft ultimately chooses to remain loyal to his friend, saying, “I’m a painter. That’s the main thing I am.” He is choosing his art and Campbell over espionage and