Mother Courage Essay
Andrew Pyne
John Mcdonough
Bridgewater State University
English 299-014
03/29/2012
Paper 2
Mother Courage “Mother Courage and Her Children” by Bertolt Brecht is about a woman and her children. They are war Profiteers in the 30 Years War selling goods out of there wagon. Mother Courage is a Survivor. She is a money-maker. She is a brutal realist. She also lies to her family. Mother Courage sells normal good from her wagon like cloths and food. Her goods are sold to the camps of soldiers she follows in the wagon. The main thing she sells is availability. Her drive to make a sale and make as much profit as possible, that’s what it is all about for her. Mother Courage’s drive for money making has molded her into a brutal realist. Her main goal is to make money for herself, as much as possible. She justifies her drive in her head convincing herself that it is for the kids. Who can blame her though the way she makes money is not easy or easy to survive off of. So in order to survive she had to become a hard ass. When her son, Swiss Cheese, was in charge of the pay box for the regiment. When the Catholic Troops came through and found out they took him for ransom. Instead of just paying the bounty, Mother Courage tried to work out the best deal possible. Like a con man would, she worked the deal till she had no choice but pay. The soldiers did not like how she was trying to con them, so they killed Swiss Cheese. Mother Courage being the “hard ass” she is, doesn’t acknowledge his death and moves on with her wagon. She holds on to hope that things will be better even if people she loves die. Mother Courage uses her family as the reason for moving on. When her son, Swiss Cheese, dies she justifies moving on because of her other children. It is apparent that this is just her using her family as an excuse to not give up and keep making money. Despite them being an excuse she does love her children and care for them. One of her sons Eilif was being praised by
John Mcdonough
Bridgewater State University
English 299-014
03/29/2012
Paper 2
Mother Courage “Mother Courage and Her Children” by Bertolt Brecht is about a woman and her children. They are war Profiteers in the 30 Years War selling goods out of there wagon. Mother Courage is a Survivor. She is a money-maker. She is a brutal realist. She also lies to her family. Mother Courage sells normal good from her wagon like cloths and food. Her goods are sold to the camps of soldiers she follows in the wagon. The main thing she sells is availability. Her drive to make a sale and make as much profit as possible, that’s what it is all about for her. Mother Courage’s drive for money making has molded her into a brutal realist. Her main goal is to make money for herself, as much as possible. She justifies her drive in her head convincing herself that it is for the kids. Who can blame her though the way she makes money is not easy or easy to survive off of. So in order to survive she had to become a hard ass. When her son, Swiss Cheese, was in charge of the pay box for the regiment. When the Catholic Troops came through and found out they took him for ransom. Instead of just paying the bounty, Mother Courage tried to work out the best deal possible. Like a con man would, she worked the deal till she had no choice but pay. The soldiers did not like how she was trying to con them, so they killed Swiss Cheese. Mother Courage being the “hard ass” she is, doesn’t acknowledge his death and moves on with her wagon. She holds on to hope that things will be better even if people she loves die. Mother Courage uses her family as the reason for moving on. When her son, Swiss Cheese, dies she justifies moving on because of her other children. It is apparent that this is just her using her family as an excuse to not give up and keep making money. Despite them being an excuse she does love her children and care for them. One of her sons Eilif was being praised by