Arturo Ui

Arturo Ui is the main character in Brecht’s play, and functions as a type of anti-hero or antagonist. Ui leads a cohort of gangsters, and the plot revolves around his attempts to gain entry into the world of politics. However, his tactics are those of a criminal, not a politician, a factor that words in his favor throughout the text. Arturo’s violence and the subsequent fear he instills in the citizens of Chicago, are precisely the tools he uses to create a mass of silent witnesses unwilling to testify to Ui’s crimes.

Bertolt Brecht uses Ui to symbolize Adolf Hitler, and frames the play so the audience see’s the absurdity of this historical character. For example, the language employed by the gangster is not a vernacular associated with the higher echelons of society. Arturo finds an actor who teaches him how to speak...