Bertolt Brecht 
Good Person of Szechwan [EPUB ebook] 

The Good Person of Szechwan tells the story that the good people are difficult to establish themselves in society in the past two thousand years, so three gods arrived to search for good people. They met with difficulties at the outset: neither the rich nor the poor wanted to provide them with shelter except good-hearted prostitute, Shen De, took them in. On the next day, the gods gave Shen De 1000 silver dollars in the name of paying the accommodation fee. In this way, Shen De no longer had to work as a prostitute. She opened a small cigarette shop and provided free food and accommodation for the needy. Her good deeds, instead of being rewarded, made the tobacco shop unsustainable. Shen De was helpless and had to wear a mask to take on the role of her cousin, Shui Ta. He opened a cigarette factory to provide employment opportunities and make the factory growing in size and prosperity with cruel means of exploitation and strict operation and management. While appreciating Shui Ta’s work and bread, people also missed good-hearted Shen De very much. Some people suspected that Shui Ta murdered his cousin and occupied the cigarette shop. Shui Ta was reported to the police. In front of the three gods who dressed up as judges, Shui Ta showed up the original appearance of Shen De and expressed her bitter intention, "I cannot treat others well and treat myself well at the same time." The three gods were at a loss what to do when facing this problem. "To change people, or to change the world?" Brecht sets the background of the story in remote China and wrote this allegorical play.