The Threepenny Opera

1101 Words3 Pages

What keeps mankind alive? Answer the question with reference to the actions of characters in The Threepenny Opera. In The Threepenny Opera, Bertolt Brecht, through the writing of the song “Second Threepenny Finale What Keeps Mankind Alive” in Scene Six, gives us the idea that “mankind is kept alive by bestial acts (page 55, line number 18). In my opinion, although the idea to associate human beings with beasts, or more specifically, human behaviour with “bestial acts” looks peculiar, some characters, in their pursuit of desires and wants, do reflect an inhuman nature, which makes them ‘beast-like’. In the play, we can see the constant, uncontrollable longing of “food” (page 55 number 9) of some characters. In my opinion, what the lyricist refers as “food” here is not the physical substance for eating or drinking, but instead things that one mostly desires. Throughout the play, we can see from the example of Macheath how his sexual urges matter more than any other things in his life: although he knows clearly that “a woman’s skirts are what he must resist” (page 40), he always fails to do so “as soon as night falls” (page 40). Moreover, his “sexual obsession” (page 40) is so intense that even during the critical days when he is wanted by the police, he keeps on showing up in the whorehouse and flirting the whores by praising the “nice underwear [that] [they] [have] got” (page 42) As reflected in the lyrics of the song, “food” is, for a number of characters, to be “sorted out” (page 55, line number 3) to the “basic, first position” (page 55, line number 3) in one’s life so that “food is the first thing [to] [them]”, “[while] morals follow on” (page 55, number 9). As an extension of the previous exampl... ... middle of paper ... ...ntrol and have to follow his orders, including the participation of the plot to disrupt the Coronation. In conclusion, I agree with Brecht’s reflection of mankind (in the theme of the play) “[being] kept alive by bestial acts”. In my opinion, beasts are without doubt brutal, and can never learn to act like a human. In their life, what matters the most is the pursuit of food and the defence for survival. In order to achieve that, they make use of all kinds of different methods. Sometimes they may even kill their own species when it comes to a critical situation. As we come back to the play, we learn from its ending that despite the bestial acts of the characters, all of them survive in the plot and live a good and luxurious life (Mac is rewarded ten thousand pounds by the Queen). This supports the premise of the song that bestial acts keep mankind alive.

More about The Threepenny Opera

Open Document