As reflected in the lyrics of the song, “food” is, for a number of characters, to be “sorted out” (page 55, line number 3) to the “basic, first position” (page 55, line number 3) in one’s life so that “food is the first thing [to] [them]”, “[while] morals follow on” (page 55, number 9). As an extension of the previous example, Mac the Knife goes on meeting the whores even though he has been legally married with Polly, tells Lucy that “[he] should like to owe [her] [his] life” (page 53) and claims that Jenny is whom “[he] [loves] the best of all” (page 43). In my view, Mac is really, as what Polly and Lucy comment, a man who is not “worth” “[so] [many] commitments” (page 68).
Besides sexual urges, money is another piece of ‘juicy meat’ that attracts the most number of characters and leads them to inhuman deeds. An obvious example is Jenny. Upon the bribe of Mrs. Peachum, she decides to betray Mac in spite of the companionship between them. Worse, she is not impressed by Mac’s belief that a woman with name beginning with a ‘P’ (instead of a ‘J’ as suggested by Jenny) will betray her, and goes on turning him in to Constable Smith. Finally, when Mr. Peachum refuses to give her the reward for turning Mac in, Jenny gets furious, blames the Peachums for “black[ing] [Mac’s] boots” (page 58) and tells them how bad she feels for having “[sold] the last sportsman left in London” (page 58). In my view, Jenny is such a hypocrite and money-fanatic that the example about her is itself, the best manifestation of what is suggested in the song as “however much you twist, whatever lies you tell…. Morals follow on” (page 55, lines 8 ~ 9).
As money represents one’s living, it does not surprise readers greatly by telling them that government officers such as Tiger Brown and Constable Smith have committed bribery. In fact, what is really surprising to us is Brown’s yielding to the Beggar’s King, Peachum, on the matter about the pulling in of Mac. At first, Mac thinks that as Brown stands on his side, there is “nothing on record against [him] at Scotland Yard” (page 35). However, things turn out that Peachum tactfully threatens Brown with the disruption of the Coronation of the Queen by “remind[ing] [him] of a historical incident [which] [has] caused a great stir at that time” and the “cruel way Semiramis (the Queen) [treats] [the] police captain [who] [has] committed some minor offence against the lower classes of the population” (page 55). As Brown is clear that similar event will surely happen (with the immense number of beggars under Peachum) if he refuses to comply with Peachum’s requests. The premise of this example, to me, is that Brown is afraid of being dismissed if it happens that the beggars succeed in disrupting the Queen’s Coronation. After all, Brown has worries about his living and the money.
In the song “Second Threepenny Finale What Keeps Mankind Alive?”, the lyricist has suggested twice that “mankind can keep alive thanks to its brilliance in keeping its humanity repressed” (page 55, lines 15 ~ 16). In my opinion, the statement reflects Peachum’s deeds in “repress[ing]” the humanity of the beggars. From the very beginning of the play, we know that Peachum opens The Beggar’s Friend Ltd. “to combat the increasing callousness of mankind” (page 5). However, throughout the whole play, Peachum is, to me, the man with the “hardest of hearts” (page 5). First, he is indifferent to Filch’s story and is too inconsiderate and brutal to be lenient in the charging of the fees of licence for Filch. Second, he is impatient towards the beggar and easily lays them off once they make a small mistake or they cannot meet his requirement. In addition, opening the beggar company, to me, only shows that he wants to secure his living by getting a share of the beggar’s income, and he does similar thing by asking for his “forty-pounds reward for the capture of the bandit Macheath” (page 54). Finally, instead of helping the beggars, Peachum has actually made them his subordinates so that the beggars are under his control and have to follow his orders, including the participation of the plot to disrupt the Coronation.
In conclusion, I agree with Brecht’s reflection of mankind (in the theme of the play) “[being] kept alive by bestial acts”. In my opinion, beasts are without doubt brutal, and can never learn to act like a human. In their life, what matters the most is the pursuit of food and the defence for survival. In order to achieve that, they make use of all kinds of different methods. Sometimes they may even kill their own species when it comes to a critical situation. As we come back to the play, we learn from its ending that despite the bestial acts of the characters, all of them survive in the plot and live a good and luxurious life (Mac is rewarded ten thousand pounds by the Queen). This supports the premise of the song that bestial acts keep mankind alive.
