The Good Person of Szechwan

Introduction The world of The Good Person of Szechwan both provokes and stimulates the ideal of man's quest to be good; of man's economic wealth and poverty; and of man's moral and tragic vision for social establishment and social control with characters in their society. In his book, “The Good Person of Szechwan,” Bertolt Brecht writes a parable play on Shen Teh's enduring decision to transform her own identity into her male cousin, Shui Ta. The author uses the idea of an “epic” theatre to convey to the audience how the “performative” dimension of drama regarding the script can influence whether or not it is possible for other characters to be “good” in the dramatic world Brecht had created.

Analysis

The author presents how Teh is forced to disguise herself as another human identity; however Ta, a ruthless business man, is shown to role play and imitate his identity as a replacement of Teh's tobacco store in Sichuan, China. In addition, Brecht utilizes the three Gods as members of the ruling class determined to discover that there is still 'goodness' on earth. He portrays how the ruling class never understands why Brecht's world prevents character like Yang Sun or the elderly couples to act upon goodness in their society (Esslin, pp 23-292). In other words, the author incorporates the ideal of Ta's new identity as a metaphor to describe both the possibility and impossibility of being “good” in the dramatic world of Brecht's society. Moreover, Brecht uses the idea of Marxist 'proletariat' and 'bourgeoisie' theory to illustrate the goodness Wang and Teh brings into their society. Thus, Shen Teh's definition of being 'good' differs from Brecht in that Teh views the concept of good as “doing good to other people” while Brecht defines the word good through his principles and techniques of an “epic” theatre and its relations to the setting, costume, casting, and tone in the play (Bertolt, pp 34-238).

By examining these two characters, Esslin portrays how one can be “good” in the world of Brecht if one split themselves into two separate identities like Shen Teh did throughout the play. Moreover, the author demonstrates how one can neither be good as a 'proletariat' nor 'bourgeoisie' because those who are poor are more likely to be greedy and heartless and those who are rich are more likely to be vulgar and rapacious with characters in Brecht's ...