Realism and idealism in the major plays of Bertolt Brecht
department or school: Arts, Faculty of
department or school: Central, Eastern, and Northern European Studies, Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Kitching, Laurence Patrick Anthony
issued: 2011-09-29T20:54:42Z
issued: 1967
related degree: Master of Arts - MA
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: This thesis is based on the major plays of Bertolt Brecht; reference to his lyrics and critical writings is made where pertinent. The thesis examines the contradictions between Brecht's realistic assessment of human nature and his Marxist ideal of how man should be in order to change society. Brecht viewed society and the behaviour of the individual from two vantage points: the first was that of man who accepted society and conformed because he was concerned mostly with his own survival; the second was that of the Marxist critic, who claimed that the survival of the individual was unimportant, and that the traditional class structure had to be destroyed. Brecht pleaded idealistically for heroism and martyrdom in the service of the Marxist cause. On the other hand, he was sympathetic to the misfortunes of the common man, and realistically urged him to repudiate the necessity of heroic acts. Chapter I introduces the main problems of the thesis, and traces briefly their development throughout Brecht’s work. Chapter II discusses the problems of individualism in four of the "Erste Stϋcke". Man's search to discover his own values for existence ends in disappointment; his insistence on hedonistic and homosexual behaviour is a sign of his rejection of society and all traditional values. In only one of the works does the protagonist join society. The choice he has to make between security and revolution anticipates the dilemma of man in most of the later plays; he prefers conformity to individual freedom. The isolation of man, and the insufficiency of sensual pleasure reveal to the hedonists also that individualism is futile. The main characters in each of these plays are striking examples of Brecht’s experimentation with the figure of the anti-hero. Chapter III examines the implications of unheroic behaviour and capitulation in Mann ist Mann, and of conformity in Die Dreigroschenoper and Mahagonny. In the two operas, man is gradually forced to conform to the economic practi…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/37726
note: REALISM AND IDEALISM IN THE MAJOR PLAYS OF BERTOLT BRECHT LAURENCE PATRICK ANTHONY KITCHING B. A., The U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h . C o l u m b i a , 1961 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF ^MASTER OF ARTS i n t h e DEPARTMENT OF GERMAN a c c e p t t h i s t h e s i s a s c o n f o r m i n g t o t h e r e q u i r e d s t a n d a r d : THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA September, 196? In p r e s e n t i n g t h i s t h e s i s i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t o f the r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r an advanced degree a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a , I agree t h a t the L i b r a r y s h a l l make i t f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e f o r r e f e r e n c e and s t u d y . I f u r t h e r a g r e e t h a t p e r m i s s i o n f o r e x t e n s i v e c o p y i n g o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r s c h o l a r l y p u r p o s e s may be g r a n t e d by t h e Head o f my Department o r by h i s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . I t i s u n d e r s t o o d t h a t c o p y i n g o r p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r f i n a n c i a l g a i n s h a l l not be a l l o w e d w i t h o u t my w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n The U n i v e r s i t y o r B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a i V a n c o u v e r 8, Canada Department i i T h i s t h e s i s i s based on t h e major p l a y s o f B e r t o l t B r e c h t ; r e f e r e n c e t o h i s l y r i c s and c r i t i c a l w r i t i n g s i s made where p e r t i n e n t . The t h e s i s examines t h e c o n t r a -d i c t i o n s between B r e c h t ' s r e a l i s t i c assessment o f human n a t u r e and h i s M a r x i s t i d e a l o f how man s h o u l d be i n o r d e r to change s o c i e t y . B r e c h t viewed s o c i e t y and t h e b e h a v i o u r o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l from two vantage p o i n t s s t h e f i r s t was t h a t o f man who a c c e p t e d s o c i e t y and conformed because he was c o…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0104902
language: eng
degree discipline: Germanic Studies
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
scholar level: Graduate
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/37726