How we cite our quotes: (Scene, Line numbers)
Quote #1
SERGEANT: […] Takes a war to get proper nominal rolls and inventories—shoes in bundles and corn in bags, and man and beast properly numbered and carted off, cause it stand to reason: no order, no war. (I, 24-27)
Well, that says it. The sergeant's view of war is that it brings order to society, while peace is just a time of stagnation before the next war comes. Is that so different from what Mother Courage herself believes? She might blame the war for taking her children's lives, but the war also establishes the social order in which she makes her living.
Quote #2
SERGEANT: Halt! Who are you with, you trash?
THE ELDER SON: Second Finnish Regiment.
SERGEANT: Where's your papers? (I, 68-70)
Who is he calling trash? Mother Courage enters the play in a scene of interrogation, a meeting point between her family and the rules of the military. Here, before we even know Eilif's name, the sergeant is asking him which regiment he belongs to.
Quote #3
MOTHER COURAGE: Talk proper to me, do you mind, and don't you dare say I'm pulling your leg in front of my unsullied children, t'ain't decent, I got no time for you. My honest face, that's me licence with the Second Regiment, and if it's too difficult for you to read there's nowt I can do about it. Nobody's putting a stamp on that.
RECRUITER: Sergeant, methinks I smell insubordination in this individual. What's needed in our camp is obedience. (I, 97-98)
Don't try this one at the airport. Mother Courage's refusal to stand down when the sergeant and recruiter demand her paperwork is an obvious act of "insubordination." But it's clear she's not out to make trouble. Later, she is tricked into trying to sell the sergeant a belt buckle, and the recruiter convinces Eilif to join the army. This establishes a precedent for Mother Courage's tendency to care more about business than resistance to authority.