Abstract
The paper discusses how this study has brought forth the humanistic ideology of Bertolt Brecht to apply to the way and manner in which Galileo has falsely been represented in history. The paper looks at how Brecht redefines Galileo as a human being with fallible human traits; he is unable to become a martyr for the cause of science and he is also a businessman that is not wholly responsible for the ideas that he "historically" made famous through his astronomical observations.

From the Paper
"This study will analyze the humanist ideology of Bertolt Brecht and his evaluation of the historical Galileo in his play, "The Life of Galileo". The humanism that Brecht defines in the play depicts Galileo as a person that is opportunistic, cunning, yet without having a real grasp on the way that his scientific ideas will affect humanity on the whole. In this capacity, Brecht sought to make Galileo into a mortal and fallible man, straying from the more outwardly polished historical interpretations that represent the scientist as something of an icon. Although Galileo's discoveries..."

Tags:brecht, science, theater

Abstract
The paper shows how the primary influence that Mei Lanfang had on the western playwright Bertolt Brecht was extremely important in relation to the theory of the alienation effect. The paper evaluates the actor's detachment from the character, the fourth wall, and the objectivity of alienation in Mei's Chinese background in acting, and discusses how he played a large role in helping Brecht to realize his own theories on audience involvement.

Tags:brechtian, play, theater

Abstract
An analysis of Bertolt Brecht's "Mother Courage and Her Children," this book report delves into the themes of motherly love, sacrifice, survival, courage and heroism. A close analysis of the book, the relations between the characters, and the messages that author Brecht is sending the reader, this report in particular emphasizes the strength and admirable qualities of the main protagonists.

From the Paper
"Nothing tests our mettle better than adversity, and there is no adversity greater and more trying than war. This appears to underlie Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children, which is sharply and precisely set against the Thirty Years' War in certain parts of Sweden in 1624 and thereafter. Mother Courage's valor and grit in nurturing her children and sustaining them by keeping her selling business hefty or surviving have been told and re-told, but the undertones never wear out and continue to reverberate how this brave mother- woman- person's instinct to survive leads her to be more than herself in each stroke of tragedy. I view Brecht as proposing that the survival instinct will move a person to go quite far and do quite everything and anything in any way -- for those he or she loves and for himself or herself, or perish. I view Brecht's characters Mother Courage and son Eilif as standing firmly for this life as if it is all there is, and with Swiss Cheese and Kattrin doing something else out-of-time and out-of-this-world but more heroic and more memorable."

Tags:Sweden, history, Thirty Years' War, literature

Abstract
This paper examines how in his play, "Life of Galileo", Bertolt Brecht describes the ordeal the famous scientist was forced to undergo as he juggled his personal values and views against those of the mainstream society in which he lived. The paper provides a scene-by-scene examination of Brecht's original play to identify these religious and scientific conflicts, as well as Brecht's treatment of the scientist's response to these conditions.

Outline:
Review and Discussion
Conclusion

From the Paper
"Scene I. Here Galileo introduces his concept of a new age of enlightened learning, where even "fishwives" will enthusiastically attend school and study advanced topics such as astronomy. Galileo states he first became aware that the Old Guard's days were numbered came when, as a young man in Siena, he watched "a group of building workers argue for five minutes, then abandon a thousand-year old method of shifting granite blocks in favour of a new and more efficient arrangement of the ropes. Then and there I knew, the old days are over and this is a new time" (7)."

Tags:telescope, Middle, Ages, Renaissance

Abstract
This paper explains that "The Monster" by Bertolt Brecht tells an important story about human nature through the use of elements such as plot and relationships. The author points out that the plot is important as the impact of the story is heavily dependent upon its structure and, in particular, upon its conclusion. The paper relates that, in a similar way, it is the relationships between the characters in the story that, reinforced by plot, convey the story's theme about human nature.

From the Paper
"The short story "The Monster" tells an important story about human nature through the use of elements such as plot and relationships. As this answer shows, plot is important as the impact of the story is heavily dependent upon its structure and, in particular, upon its conclusion. In a similar way, it is the relationships between the characters in the story that, reinforced by plot, convey the story's theme about human nature. In outline, the story tells of an event at a Russian film studio where a film is being made of a horrible event in Russia's past in which a bloodthirsty governor - the "monster" of the story's title - was responsible for the deaths of many Russian Jews."

Tags:story, interpretation, short

Abstract
This paper discusses how Bertolt Brecht is justifiably famous as one of the greatest political dramatists and whose self-contradictory Marxist didactics have made him the subject of a love-hate relationship on both sides of the Marxist divide. It explores how a detailed scrutiny of his earliest works betrays a startling cognizance of his future developments and how, despite the fact that much of his later work was a direct response to world events, one finds that their nature, and, to some degree, the events that inspired them, can be found foretold in the umbra of his origins. In particular, it looks at how the metaphors and mythologies of Brecht's first play, "Baal", both predict, foreshadow, and, to some degree, determine the political atmosphere and ramifications of his future life and body of work.

From the Paper
"BAAL has also been heralded by many as a nigh-prophetic work in terms of its discussion of the logical extensions of decadence, of revolution, and of the artistic individual within the proletariat mass. This play addresses issues that would not be entirely raised until after the 2nd World War and not fully understood until well into the Cold Wars. Some insight into the way in which Brecht's earliest work addresses issues budding at the time of his death can be seen by comparing the original BAAL to a latter-day reworking of the play called The Dream Engine (a radical anarchist piece released at Amherst College in 1969 and heralded by some as the first true rock opera)."

Tags:marxism, god

Abstract
In this essay, the writer analyzes the different forms and purposes of theater offered by Antonin Artaud and Bertolt Brecht in their works and philosophies. The writer discusses the purpose and goals of the two playwrights and their impact on audiences.

From the Paper
"The theater of Antonin Artaud and Bertolt Brecht is radically different with respect to the purpose and goals of the respective playwrights with respect to the impact of their works on audiences and society. If Artaud's theater of cruelty and Brecht's epic theater are distinct then so are their goals for audience impact. Artaud hoped by showing images of man's cruelty to man, audience members would experience a form of delirium whereby they would experience trances and inspiration leading to personal change ... "

Tags:Epic Theater, theater of cruelty, individual, society, truth, psyche, illusion, social change, revolution, interaction, audience

Abstract
This paper focuses on the main character of the play, "Mother Courage," and shows how the play has generated tremendous controversy among critics. It shows that although Mother Courage demonstrates insight in her perceptive comments about the horrible impact of war on the lives of ordinary people, she remains committed to the war that has taken away her loved ones. It shows how she is at once a heroine and a despicable person, she is a contradictory character that elicits sympathy and admiration, as well as anger and frustration from the audience.

From the Paper
"In spite of Mother Courage's alertness and good intentions, she is doomed to fail in her fight to determine her fate in war because of her contradictory characteristics: She is both wise and gullible, insightful and blind, perceptive and insensitive. Her tainted character and mercenary intentions undercut her goodness and perceptiveness (Morley 55). Unlike the other characters, Mother Courage possesses the courage to strip away the layers of pomp and propaganda to get to the truth. Although the generals and colonels adulate the glory of war, Mother Courage reveals the mercenary motivations for waging war: "To go by what the big shots say, they're waging war for almighty God" they're waging it for what they can get. Else little folk like me wouldn't be in it at all" (Brecht 48; 3). Yet this moment of insight is marred by her moment of blindness and insensitivity (Speirs 97). In the scene when her daughter, Kattrin, returns wounded by the soldiers, Mother Courage curses the war for the fate inflicted on her daughter: "It's a historic moment to me when they hit my daughter over the eye. She'll never get a husband? Curse the war" (Brecht 81; 6). In the next scene at the height of her career, when she is sitting on the wagon pulled by the injured Kattrin, Mother Courage praises the war: "I won't let you spoil my war for me? War feeds its people better" (Brecht 82; 7)."

Tags:heroine, colonel, death, moral

From the Paper
""MOTHER COURAGE"

The playwright Bertolt Brecht described the title character of his play "Mother Courage" as "a negative, villainous character," yet she emerges for most audiences as a heroine, one who is forced into profiteering and cowardice by war. It is true that Mother Courage is an itinerant merchant who lives off the troops of both sides during the Thirty Years' War. She lives by her wits to make sure that her family remains intact. Her wagon of goods is a symbol of her family's survival, as well as the literal means by which they exist. It is the THESIS of this paper that Mother Courage fits both Brecht's description and her role as a heroine: she is a realist who, because she lives off war, is partially responsible for the death of her family."

Abstract
An analysis of Bertolt Brecht's play 'The Good Woman of Setzuan.' Throughout the play Shen Te juggles her promise to be good with the necessity to be bad. The author finds through the protagonist and the creation of her doppelganger, 'The Good Woman of Setzuan' portrays the struggle to be good while living in a corrupt society, and the delicate balance needed to survive within it as seen in Shen Te's struggle as a good woman leading the life of a prostitute.

From the Paper
"Shen Te, a good woman, a prostitute, and the only one willing to take three gods into her home is rewarded with 1000 silver dollars, with which she is to "above all be good"(712). This mission tears her in two. Shen Te and her doppelganger Shui Ta are in a delicate balance of power. Shen Te needs to keep her promise to the gods by being a good woman, helping those around her in need. Because Shen Te is too good, those she helps threaten to ruin her own survival. To remain a good woman Shen Te must create someone to fight for her. Like parents, both Shui Ta and Shen Te make up the whole of one unit. Shen Te is a nurturing, sweet mother-type while Shui Ta becomes a strict, disciplinarian, father-type. Through the protagonist and the creation of her doppelganger, Brecht's The Good Woman of Setzuan portrays the struggle to be good while living in a corrupt society, and the delicate balance needed to survive within it."

Tags:analysis, doppelganger, drama, good, play, shen, te, woman