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The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

by Bertolt Brecht · 1941

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, (Der aufhaltsame Aufstieg des Arturo Ui) was written by the great German dramatist Bertolt Brecht over the course of 3 furious weeks in 1941, while a refugee in Helsinki, Finland. A… more

12 quotes ★ 3.81 (2,801) Fiction

Quotes from the Book

If we could learn to look instead of gawking, We'd see the horror in the heart of farce, If only we could act instead of talking, We wouldn't always end up on our arse. This was the thing that nearly had us mastered; Don't yet rejoice in his defeat, you men! Although the world stood up and stopped the bastard, The bitch that bore him is in heat again.
72
Therefore learn how to see and not to gape. To act instead of talking all day long. The world was almost won by such an ape! The nations put him where his kind belong. But don't rejoice too soon at your escape - The womb he crawled from is still going strong.
22
What's left of me is not afraid of lead - Roma
1
Givola: Why you doing this, boss? Just for the swells at the Trust? Ui: On the contrary. This is for the little guy. Why do you think that Trust man, Clark, Always looks so impressive? Not for his own kind, that’s for sure. His bank account takes care of them ­ Just like I rely on my brave boys to make sure I get respect. Clark puffs himself up to impress the little man. And so will I.
1
Sitting. Sitting is the hardest, Mr Ui. Yes, some people can walk, and some people can stand; but show me the man who knows how to sit.
1
Ui: I don’t muzzle the animal that does my heavy lifting. I overlook the foibles of my employees.
1
A compass needle, though it’s made of steel, Always trembles before it settles down. Your hand’s just looking for its pole, that’s all.
1
But if the little man gets paid even less than he is now, How will he ever afford our vegetables?
1
it doesn’t matter what professors Or smart-alecks think; all that counts is how the little Man sees his master. Basta.
1
Ui: We’ll see about that. Walk around, like they do in this Shakespeare guy. (The actor walks around.) ..Good. Givola: You can’t walk around like that in front of caulifl ower dealers. It’s unnatural. Ui: What are you talking about? Nobody’s natural these days. When I walk, I want people to know that I’m walking.
1
Park two big boys behind you and you’ll stand proud enough.
1
Dogsborough: That stock-offering was like the bowl of salted nuts They put on the bar for free: satisfies your hunger for nothing, But leaves you with a costly thirst.
1

About Bertolt Brecht

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About the book

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, (Der aufhaltsame Aufstieg des Arturo Ui) was written by the great German dramatist Bertolt Brecht over the course of 3 furious weeks in 1941, while a refugee in Helsinki, Finland. A dizzyingly intelligent political satire on the (ir)resistibleness of political thuggery, Arturo Ui satirizes the rise of Hitler in Nazi Germany by dressing it up as “the gangster film” we thought we knew. In Arturo Ui, the metamorphosis of thug-to-politician through corruption, intimidation and all manner of brutality is thinly masked by a Chicago gangland epic where the young Arturo Ui stages a violent takeover of the green grocer trade.

Book details

First published
1941
Genre
Fiction
Goodreads rating
3.81 (3k ratings)

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