Mother Courage and Her Children Short Essay Assignments

Short Essay Questions

The 60 short essay questions listed in this section require a one to two sentence answer. They ask students to demonstrate a deeper understanding of the text. Students must describe what they've read, rather than just recall it.

Short Essay Question - Scene 1

1. What is making the recruiting officer lose his confidence in mankind?

2. What issue does the sergeant have with peace?

3. What do the sergeant and recruiting officer think the benefit of war is?

4. Why do all of Mother Courage's children have names of different origins?

5. How does Mother Courage get her name?

6. Why does Mother Courage continue to talk with the sergeant and recruiting officer even though they are trying to recruit her sons into the army?