Two similes that compare people to trees appear in Mother Courage. The first simile is in the very first scene. When the sergeant attempts to recruit Mother Courage’s boys for the army, he first utilizes flattery, saying:
These lads of yours are as straight as birch trees, strong limbs, massive chests… What are such fine specimens doing out of the army?
The Sergeant compares Eilif and Swiss Cheese to trees in order to emphasize their strength. Like trees, they are big and strong. Those two elements are part of traditional masculinity. Soldiering and martial pursuits in general are considered in this time period to be virile, masculine endeavors. The implication is that because Eilif and Swiss Cheese are physically able, they ought to join the army, since not joining and fighting would be a waste of their skills. In the Sergeant’s view, a capable man’s place is in the army, and if he is not in the army, he is going to waste. This type of thinking demonstrates how war reduces people and their virtues to mere resources.
Later, while bandaging up Kattrin in Scene 6, Mother Courage uses a similar simile to refer to what’s happened to Kattrin:
Like with trees: the tall, straight ones are cut down for roof timber, and the crooked ones can enjoy life.
This simile implies that good people are often punished for being good. This message merges well with the rest of the play. In a sense, all Mother Courage’s children die due to their own virtues. Eilif perishes for something that would have been considered heroic in wartime, Swiss Cheese dies in his attempt to be honest, and Kattrin dies in her attempt to save others. Mother Courage’s children all are straight trees that are cut down—or, in other words, they are virtuous casualties of the war. Mother Courage, on the other hand, although she does not enjoy life per se, is the only person in her family to survive the war. She is also, excluding maybe Eilif, the most crooked. Thus, the events of the play fulfill the view of the world set out by this simile.
Two similes that compare people to trees appear in Mother Courage. The first simile is in the very first scene. When the sergeant attempts to recruit Mother Courage’s boys for the army, he first utilizes flattery, saying:
These lads of yours are as straight as birch trees, strong limbs, massive chests… What are such fine specimens doing out of the army?
The Sergeant compares Eilif and Swiss Cheese to trees in order to emphasize their strength. Like trees, they are big and strong. Those two elements are part of traditional masculinity. Soldiering and martial pursuits in general are considered in this time period to be virile, masculine endeavors. The implication is that because Eilif and Swiss Cheese are physically able, they ought to join the army, since not joining and fighting would be a waste of their skills. In the Sergeant’s view, a capable man’s place is in the army, and if he is not in the army, he is going to waste. This type of thinking demonstrates how war reduces people and their virtues to mere resources.
Later, while bandaging up Kattrin in Scene 6, Mother Courage uses a similar simile to refer to what’s happened to Kattrin:
Like with trees: the tall, straight ones are cut down for roof timber, and the crooked ones can enjoy life.
This simile implies that good people are often punished for being good. This message merges well with the rest of the play. In a sense, all Mother Courage’s children die due to their own virtues. Eilif perishes for something that would have been considered heroic in wartime, Swiss Cheese dies in his attempt to be honest, and Kattrin dies in her attempt to save others. Mother Courage’s children all are straight trees that are cut down—or, in other words, they are virtuous casualties of the war. Mother Courage, on the other hand, although she does not enjoy life per se, is the only person in her family to survive the war. She is also, excluding maybe Eilif, the most crooked. Thus, the events of the play fulfill the view of the world set out by this simile.
