Helping others

The beginning of The Good Woman of Setzuan was somewhat confusing. At first we see the three Gods going around asking for a place to stay, but no one gives them a room. Then, Shen Te, who is a prostitute decides to offer them a place to stay. To me it seems that the point is to show how ironic it is that sometimes the people who we consider to be bad in society end up being the better people. Or it could also be that the people who have the most never help out while the people who have less always try to help. As Shen Te says, “ Isn’t it funny how people who don’t have very much like to give it away?”(36) It seems that Shen Te really enjoys giving to others even when that means that she might not have enough for herself.

Another thing that was confusing, was the purpose of the carpenter and the landlord lady coming into the shop to ask for money. It seems that this could represent how selfish the world is and how some people just like asking for more and more even when that means that other people will be harmed. It could also show how far Shen Te will go just to help others. Now she is about to lose her shop because she is too busy giving away products instead of selling the. Now, people also just come in and expect things to be given to them without putting any effort into their work. The question is whether there should be a limit to how nice and helping one person can be?


Works Cited

Brecht, Bertolt, and Eric Bentley. The Good Woman of Setzuan. Minneapolis, Minn.: University of Minnesota, 1999. Print.