Equus

The play, Equus by Peter Shaffer, is a work of conflict as the protagonist struggles with his conflicting mind. Alan Strang has a conflict between his obligations towards Equus, his "God", and to society. Equus was stemmed from Alan's love of horses and his mother's religious teachings. After his first encounter with a horse his obsession grew into a need-based relationship, "'I see you.' 'I will save you.'" This relationship coaxed Alan to willingly follow Equus's orders, "What did he say? 'Ride

In Peter Shaffer’s dramatic play, Equus, the elements of obsession, religion, mental health, and violence are all observed, leaving one to wonder, and perhaps, examine if a connection exists between them. Equus takes place in a southern England town, mainly in a psychiatric hospital, involving a young teenaged boy named Alan Strang. To understand Alan’s demeanor, we must understand his upbringing. Alan is an only child to Dora and Frank Strang. Alan’s father, Frank, is the owner of a print shop

You’re mine! I am yours and you are mine… I see you. Always! Everywhere! Forever!” (Shaffer, pg. 105). Equus is his God, therefore when Alan is about to commit a sin he knows Equus will be disappointed and jealous. He was conscious of this, so in order to prevent the disappointment from happening, he blinded the horses so they would not watch him any longer. Alan being conscious of the consequences

Frances Liberman Ms. Kim IBH Lang and Lit January 15th 2015 Dysart’s Character and Dream In Peter Shaffer’s play, Equus, one of the main characters is a psychiatrist named Martin Dysart who specializes with adolescents. The play begins with a seventeen-year-old boy named Alan Strang and a horse named Nugget. Alan is showing great affection towards the horse. Suddenly, a man in his forties is shown holding a cigarette. This man is Martin Dysart, the first character to speak in the play. He begins

Equus is as complex as the human mind. Exploring psychological questions such as what does it mean to be normal, and should individuality be sacrificed for the sake of normality? Whilst propelling a mystery, crime story, and a psychological thriller, Peter Shaffer’s Equus examines the minds of a young stable boy who has blinded several horses and the aging psychiatrist asked to “cure” him. But would a “cure” really normalize the teenager? A seventeen year old boy, Alan is brought to a psychiatric

Equus by Peter Shaffer: A Critical Analysis Equus was written by Peter Shaffer in the 1970s, a time for great change in both culture and the field of psychiatry. In his play, Shaffer explores the conflict between social responsibility and individual desire, and the difficulty of finding a balance between the two. The playwright contrasts the characters Martin Dysart, an unsatisfied child psychiatrist, and Alan Strang, his seventeen year old patient, to explore the two extremes of the spectrum of

insignificance presented is accidental. Both Peter Shaffer’s Equus and Albert Camus’ The Stranger approach different ways in presenting the truths of Alan Strang and Meursault to the audience/jury, but one thing remains clear; intentional or unintentional manipulation of these characters leads to the eternal distrust of the reliability of their presenters, Martin Dysart and the members of the law. Through Dysart’s self-diagnosis given throughout Equus, Shaffer directly conflicts with

Tom Shaffer’s play “Equus” tells the story of a psychiatrist, Martin Dysart, who treats a young adolescent who committed a savage act of blinding six horses with a metal spike. The young adolescent is a stable boy named Alan Strang who is the only child of an opinionated father and a genteel, religious mother. As Dysart uncovers the reasons behind the boys’ attack, he to faces his own issues. Shaffer uses a broad range of the English language to show the differences between his two main characters

Sigmund Freud would have a field day with Alan Strang, seeing as he represses past events, but Freud would have blamed it all on the mother as Dora felt Dysart started to do. Alan Strang is an interesting character in the play “Equus” by Peter Shaffer. One first meets Alan, who does not speak much besides singing jingles previously heard on the television. Alan’s mental state deteriorates after past events such as being in the barn with Jill. His perception of the world makes the situations increasingly

Peter Shaffer’s play, Equus, explores the conflict between social responsibility and individual desire using contrasting characterisation and symbolism. By imposing an extreme situation on the central characters - the psychiatrist, Martin Dysart and his patient, Alan Strang - Shaffer explores how each deal with their personal struggles. Shaffer uses contrasting characterisation between Dysart and Alan, who are stark opposites in their societal roles and personal beliefs. As a psychiatrist, Dysart