Howard W. Campbell Jr. How does someone distinguish a person’s real identity from the person they are pretending to be? In the novel Mother Night, Kurt Vonnegut creates Howard W. Campbell Jr. who is a Nazi and an American Spy. In the introduction of the book Campbell states, “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be” (Vonnegut v). Campbell pretends to be a Nazi and his propaganda become well known around the world. He sits in an Israeli prison awaiting his trial for his war crimes. While Campbell is known as a Nazi and an American spy, he becomes a character in one of his plays and he is in his own world of believing his actions were his choice, but he is really a puppet to the Nazis and Americans with
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Campbell views himself only as the voice in the broadcasting of the propaganda and he does not believe a word he said. He is reunited with the person he believes who is his wife and she asks him, “She had gone to the front window now, was looking at the patriotic devices I’d drawn on the dusty window-panes. ‘Which one of these is you now, Howard?’ ” (Vonnegut 91). Campbell replies to her with “I have no political opinion at all” (Vonnegut 92). Campbell does not want to answer her question because he has no ties to any nation, he believes that what he did during the war was what allowed him to survive. Campbell’s job as a Nazi is to broadcast propaganda. Propaganda is information of a bias or misleading nature used for promoting or publicizing a particular political cause or point of view. Even though the broadcasts are Campbell’s voice, they are not his ideas. He is following the orders of the Germans and Americans. Campbell’s propaganda supported the Germans, but also had hidden messages that helped the Americans. Campbell is just a pawn to both sides and he does not completely understand what he is broadcasting. He only understands the surface meaning of the propaganda, that they are political statements used to convince Germans and other people to trust the Jewish or other minorities. Campbell’s voice keeps him alive during the war because he …show more content…
He is exonerated of all his war crimes due to the help of Harold J. Sparrow. Campbell is about to be released from prison and he states “So I am about to be a free man again, to wander where I please. I find the prospect nauseating. I think that tonight is the night I will hang Howard W. Campbell, Jr., for crimes against himself” (Vonnegut 267-2678). Campbell is no longer held responsible for his war crimes. Campbell’s freedom proves that he did not mean anything he broadcasted during the war. His freedom proves to the world that he was only the voice of the broadcast and their are others behind the scenes who controlled him and told him what to say. During the war Campbell is controlled by other people to commit the war crimes. He follows the orders of the Nazis and Americans because he believes he has no other choice, if Campbell did not follow their orders he would not have been able to survive the war. Campbell believes that it was his choice to become an American spy and a Nazi propagandist; however he really was doing these jobs to protect himself from death. Campbell has no allegiance to any nation and participating in the war crimes was the way for him to
Campbell views himself only as the voice in the broadcasting of the propaganda and he does not believe a word he said. He is reunited with the person he believes who is his wife and she asks him, “She had gone to the front window now, was looking at the patriotic devices I’d drawn on the dusty window-panes. ‘Which one of these is you now, Howard?’ ” (Vonnegut 91). Campbell replies to her with “I have no political opinion at all” (Vonnegut 92). Campbell does not want to answer her question because he has no ties to any nation, he believes that what he did during the war was what allowed him to survive. Campbell’s job as a Nazi is to broadcast propaganda. Propaganda is information of a bias or misleading nature used for promoting or publicizing a particular political cause or point of view. Even though the broadcasts are Campbell’s voice, they are not his ideas. He is following the orders of the Germans and Americans. Campbell’s propaganda supported the Germans, but also had hidden messages that helped the Americans. Campbell is just a pawn to both sides and he does not completely understand what he is broadcasting. He only understands the surface meaning of the propaganda, that they are political statements used to convince Germans and other people to trust the Jewish or other minorities. Campbell’s voice keeps him alive during the war because he …show more content…
He is exonerated of all his war crimes due to the help of Harold J. Sparrow. Campbell is about to be released from prison and he states “So I am about to be a free man again, to wander where I please. I find the prospect nauseating. I think that tonight is the night I will hang Howard W. Campbell, Jr., for crimes against himself” (Vonnegut 267-2678). Campbell is no longer held responsible for his war crimes. Campbell’s freedom proves that he did not mean anything he broadcasted during the war. His freedom proves to the world that he was only the voice of the broadcast and their are others behind the scenes who controlled him and told him what to say. During the war Campbell is controlled by other people to commit the war crimes. He follows the orders of the Nazis and Americans because he believes he has no other choice, if Campbell did not follow their orders he would not have been able to survive the war. Campbell believes that it was his choice to become an American spy and a Nazi propagandist; however he really was doing these jobs to protect himself from death. Campbell has no allegiance to any nation and participating in the war crimes was the way for him to