56 pages 1 hour read

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Mother Night

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1961

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Symbols & Motifs

Hiding

The motif of hiding runs throughout Mother Night, beginning with Vonnegut’s stated moral “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be” (v). The act of pretending to be something suggests a denial of a ‘true’ self elsewhere, so as often as the motif of hiding arises in the novel, so does that of wanting to be free. The image of Campbell perpetually waiting for the absolving call of “Olly-olly-ox-in-free” (24) is an enduring one for his character, and one he returns to throughout the work, almost clinging to the hope that should he hear the call, his ‘true’ self will emerge, and he can cast aside the Nazi he is pretending to be.

Campbell is not alone, however; virtually all the novel’s characters are hiding aspects of themselves. In order to understand these characters, the reader must reflect not on the outward clues they offer, but also on the inner motivations they hide. Campbell, of course, rejects such peering, and presents his motivations as shallow, though in writing his Confessions, he acknowledges that he has spent his life hiding, and though the life he leads is a sham, it is also the only truth he has.

Related Titles

By Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Study Guide

logo

2 B R 0 2 B

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

2 B R 0 2 B

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Plot Summary

logo

Breakfast of Champions

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Breakfast of Champions

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Plot Summary

logo

Deadeye Dick

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Deadeye Dick

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Study Guide

logo

Epicac

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Epicac

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Plot Summary

logo

Fates Worse Than Death

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Fates Worse Than Death

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Study Guide

logo

Galapagos

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Galapagos

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Study Guide

logo

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Study Guide

logo

Slaughterhouse-Five

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Slaughterhouse-Five

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Study Guide

logo

The Sirens of Titan

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

The Sirens of Titan

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Study Guide

logo

Welcome to the Monkey House

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Welcome to the Monkey House

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.