How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line)
Quote #4
PEACHUM. And now I'll tell you who this gentleman with the gloves is—Mac the Knife! He runs up the stairs to Polly's bedroom.
MRS. PEACHUM. God in Heaven! Mac the Knife! Jesus! Gentle Jesus meek and mild—Polly! Where's Polly? (1.1.213-217)
Mrs. Peachum doesn't really know who her daughter's boyfriend is. She just knows he dresses up in nice gloves. She doesn't ask any questions about where he or his money come from, maybe because she doesn't want to know. But when he's named as the notorious criminal Mac the Knife, she suddenly wakes up to the frightening facts.
Quote #5
MATTHEW. All over London they'll be saying this is the most daring job you've ever pulled, Mac, enticing Mr Peachum's only child from his home.
MAC. Who's Mr Peachum?
MATTHEW. He'll tell you he's the poorest man in London. (1.2.17-21)
Mac's "jobs," as Matthew calls them, are his criminal acts: robbing, raping, murdering, and now kidnapping, in a sense. Matthew thinks that his convincing Polly to "marry" him is the most brazen of all of Mac's history. In comparison to killing, it seems kind of mild, but if it's that impressive it must be a big deal.
Quote #6
JAKE known as Crook-fingered Jake. Congratulations! At 14 Ginger Street there were some people on the second floor. We had to smoke them out.
BOB known as Bob the Saw. Congratulations! A copper got done in the Strand.
MAC. Amateurs.
NED. We did all we could, but three people in the West End were past saving. Congratulations! (1.2.38-45)
Nice names. These guys sound like professional wrestlers with their criminal nicknames. "Crook-fingered Jake" is probably good at snatching things that don't belong to him, and we don't really want to know how Bob got his nickname.