The Measures Taken by Bertolt Brecht is a play that leaves an aftertaste of bitterness and confusion. The famous dramatist is remembered as a pacifist whose views stood against military conflicts; thus, almost all his works explored the topic of human suffering. Just like many artists of his generation, Brecht was interested in the ideas of communism. That was as clear as day that he found an idea of the world without excessively rich and horrifyingly poor people extremely appealing. Equality, brotherhood, and many other beautiful words that were used in propaganda worked really well. However, he probably couldn’t ignore the news about the Red Terror in the newly formed Soviet Union. It was highly unlikely that he knew nothing about refugees who tried to escape from the land of equals. Of course, these are just an assumptions, he could be oblivious of the situation or didn’t think it worthy of his attention. The Measures Taken turned out to be an “apologetic” play that gave a perfect explanation to people who found the deeds of communists horrible and thought of them as a crime.
The four agitators were perfect executives. They had only one task and that was to spread the net of the revolution. Upon arriving to China, they were met by a young communist who naively thought that they knew nothing about hardship the locals had to endure. They brought nothing but the leaflets and orders. Of course, one could mention that it was a right tactics, for there was little they could. There were only four of them against the old imperial traditions and the well-armed army. It could be true, but they did nothing to console the young comrade to make him feel at least a little bit better. There were only orders and demands, it seemed that they were machines without feelings and emotions.
Unlike his companions, the young comrade couldn’t avert his gaze from terrible conditions people lived and worked in. The prospect of happy future wasn’t enough for him. The young man tried to redeem injustice as soon as he saw one. His kind-heartedness resulted in numerous fails that made him question both his strengths and his actions. He was simply disappointed in himself, for he proved to be unable to provide help. The outcome was tragic. He was shot by his own comrades and left behind. The author didn’t even have a name for him, for that young comrade was like thousands of other naïve and eager revolutionist. Lots of them didn’t survive; they were simply milled in a grinder of the revolution. They thought they fought for the better future but it never came.
The Measures Taken by Bertolt Brecht is the play that explores the conflict of idealism vs. reality. As least the young comrade didn’t betray his views, for he had chosen death.
