Summary
In Equus by Peter Shaffer the main character, Martin Dysart, is a psychiatrist who ‘adjusts’ people back to a ‘normal’ life. The heinous acts of Alan Strang’s crimes are outlined at the beginning of play. A court magistrate had assigned Mr. Dysart to help Alan, believing that he had the abilities to help.
Alan’s childhood is explained during a ploy of Dysart’s, it is reveled that he was brought up in a bi-religious family, a Christian mother, and an atheist father. He received mixed signals during his upbringing, his father, believing that Alan had taken too much interest in the violent parts of the Bible during his studies, desecrated a ‘violent’ picture of Jesus’ crucifixion, and replaced it with a picture of a staring horse.
This picture was the start of Alan’s obsession with horses; his first true interaction with a real horse was on the beach. As a child a horse rider had approached him on the beach and asked if he had wanted a ride, when his parents discovered this they were irate, the father pulled Alan off, furious. After this experience Alan had started seeing horses as majestic animals.
Alan was taught that sex was unnatural and dirty, that true happiness could be found through marriage. His father had no input on this matter until later in his life.
It is also revealed that Alan takes midnight rides upon horses, naked, believing that he and the horse are one, destroying their enemies together.
Later in life he has met a girl that he had feelings for persuades him to go with her to an “adult” movie. They encounter Alan’s father at the theatre, Alan then comes to terms that sex is not unnatural and inherent in all men, even his father that married his mother. Later the couple end making love above the stables where Alan works.
Hearing the horses make strange noises as the two are making love, Alan yells at the woman to leave, in a state of fury he has no further explanation. It is then reveled that Alan had believed that the horses were disappointed in him, and no longer accepted him, that they had ‘seen’ the taint enter Alan. In a fit of rage he gouges the eyes of the horses out with a hoof pick.
It ends with Alan ‘helped’ and Dysart questioning if what he did helped Alan, because he basically debunked everything that Alan had worshiped. He questioned whether it was right for him to do this to children.
Characters
Alan Strang- Alan is a troubled boy who was raised in a split religion household, atheist father and Christian Mother. This ended up with him having a extreme view of both, while he did not believe in god he did worship horses, to an incredibly unhealthy extent. It is shown that his liking for horses is physical, as well as mental. His Christian upraising taught him that sex was disgusting, so he was celibate for most of his life, after coming to the understanding that it isn’t and is inherent among men. However his mental holdings of horses being godlike gets in the way of him ‘enjoying’ sex, as he believes that the horse believed he sinned, and as such was no longer worthy. This sent him over the edge, causing him to harm the horses, and reach the state he’s in now. Alan is a confused child, non-violent by nature, but non-the-less disturbed by his up bringing of parents constantly teaching him different things.
Martin Dysart- He is a psychiatrist, who has helped many children, and assigned the ‘difficult’ case of Alan Strang, because a Magistrate believes that Dysart can definitely help him. Dysart’s techniques range from mind games, where he phrases questions and says that he gave Alan a ‘truth pill’ so that Alan can only answer truthfully, to ‘hypnotism’, which allows him to uncover Alan’s deeper secrets. The purpose of Dysart’s existence in the work is to make the story seem more realistic, almost as if it was a true case study, as opposed just some narrative of Alan. At the end of the book he calls into the morality of ‘fixing’ Alan, and removing anything that Alan had worshiped and had mad him ‘happy’, wondering whether or not it was his call to take away something that Alan or any other kid he had ‘normalized’ before then.
Setting
The main story takes place in Rokeby Psychiatric Hospital in Southern England, during present time. This is due to the fact the play centers around Martin Dysart and his interactions with Alan Strang, so it would make sense that the treatment takes place at Dr. Dysart’s place of work. From time to time though there is flashes of different setting, mostly just scenes of Alan’s experiences, these include Alan’s bedroom, Alan’s place of work, the stables, and the beach, where Alan first encountered a real horse. Even though the main setting is the hospital, the place where most of the important details take place is inside of Alan’s mind, or the other smaller scenes. Alan’s place of work, the stables, was important on several accounts, one is where Alan was able to experience his worship and relationship with horses, and two it where his act of digression occurred, after he had just had relations with a woman. Another key minor setting was on the beach, when Alan had first encountered a real horse, which he became enraptured with, after having the horse picture form his father at the foot of his bed, this was a key point in which he actually becomes obsessed with horses.
Conflicts
The first noticeable one in Man vs Man, in which it is Dysart vs Alan, Dysart is trying to ‘help’ Alan, and Alan is initially resisting.
Man vs Self is a more prevalent conflict however, both Alan and Dysart show this, Alan through his inner turmoil that he needed to create his own world to live in, and Dysart through the fact that he begins questioning if his work is truly just and worth it.
Major Themes
One theme is how strongly should one believe in something. Alan chose to believe in the horses to the very end, which drove him insane. Martin had to believe that his work was helping people, so that he could carry on.
Another theme is the inner struggle one has with nature and outside pressure. Alan had been repressing his intimate desires since an early age, only discovering that these urges were completely natural. When he finally expressed it the pressure from his early childhood prevented him from overcoming t fully, causing an internal struggle, making him snap.
A semi-hidden theme is that the experiences a child had can change their entire lives. The fact that Alan had two opposing opinions enforced upon him as a child affected him negatively. When Alan’s father destroyed the picture of Christ, replacing it with a picture of horse that made Alan believe that horses were above god, hence the religious worship.
Symbols
Horses are, obviously, a large part of the play, they represent freedom and the ability to express freedom. It was Alan’s outlet to express himself, freed from the bonds of his normal life.
Religion in this book represented more beliefs than actual religion, because Alan worshiped the horses almost religiously.
While horses represent freedom the bits that the horses wear symbolize the shackles of life, which are removed when Alan is with the horses, riding free.
Images
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl-MgaVCUy0
MLA
"Equus." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 01 Apr. 2013. <http://0-www.britannica.com.libra.naz.edu/EBchecked/topic/1380493/Equus>.
In Equus by Peter Shaffer the main character, Martin Dysart, is a psychiatrist who ‘adjusts’ people back to a ‘normal’ life. The heinous acts of Alan Strang’s crimes are outlined at the beginning of play. A court magistrate had assigned Mr. Dysart to help Alan, believing that he had the abilities to help.
Alan’s childhood is explained during a ploy of Dysart’s, it is reveled that he was brought up in a bi-religious family, a Christian mother, and an atheist father. He received mixed signals during his upbringing, his father, believing that Alan had taken too much interest in the violent parts of the Bible during his studies, desecrated a ‘violent’ picture of Jesus’ crucifixion, and replaced it with a picture of a staring horse.
This picture was the start of Alan’s obsession with horses; his first true interaction with a real horse was on the beach. As a child a horse rider had approached him on the beach and asked if he had wanted a ride, when his parents discovered this they were irate, the father pulled Alan off, furious. After this experience Alan had started seeing horses as majestic animals.
Alan was taught that sex was unnatural and dirty, that true happiness could be found through marriage. His father had no input on this matter until later in his life.
It is also revealed that Alan takes midnight rides upon horses, naked, believing that he and the horse are one, destroying their enemies together.
Later in life he has met a girl that he had feelings for persuades him to go with her to an “adult” movie. They encounter Alan’s father at the theatre, Alan then comes to terms that sex is not unnatural and inherent in all men, even his father that married his mother. Later the couple end making love above the stables where Alan works.
Hearing the horses make strange noises as the two are making love, Alan yells at the woman to leave, in a state of fury he has no further explanation. It is then reveled that Alan had believed that the horses were disappointed in him, and no longer accepted him, that they had ‘seen’ the taint enter Alan. In a fit of rage he gouges the eyes of the horses out with a hoof pick.
It ends with Alan ‘helped’ and Dysart questioning if what he did helped Alan, because he basically debunked everything that Alan had worshiped. He questioned whether it was right for him to do this to children.
Characters
Alan Strang- Alan is a troubled boy who was raised in a split religion household, atheist father and Christian Mother. This ended up with him having a extreme view of both, while he did not believe in god he did worship horses, to an incredibly unhealthy extent. It is shown that his liking for horses is physical, as well as mental. His Christian upraising taught him that sex was disgusting, so he was celibate for most of his life, after coming to the understanding that it isn’t and is inherent among men. However his mental holdings of horses being godlike gets in the way of him ‘enjoying’ sex, as he believes that the horse believed he sinned, and as such was no longer worthy. This sent him over the edge, causing him to harm the horses, and reach the state he’s in now. Alan is a confused child, non-violent by nature, but non-the-less disturbed by his up bringing of parents constantly teaching him different things.
Martin Dysart- He is a psychiatrist, who has helped many children, and assigned the ‘difficult’ case of Alan Strang, because a Magistrate believes that Dysart can definitely help him. Dysart’s techniques range from mind games, where he phrases questions and says that he gave Alan a ‘truth pill’ so that Alan can only answer truthfully, to ‘hypnotism’, which allows him to uncover Alan’s deeper secrets. The purpose of Dysart’s existence in the work is to make the story seem more realistic, almost as if it was a true case study, as opposed just some narrative of Alan. At the end of the book he calls into the morality of ‘fixing’ Alan, and removing anything that Alan had worshiped and had mad him ‘happy’, wondering whether or not it was his call to take away something that Alan or any other kid he had ‘normalized’ before then.
Setting
The main story takes place in Rokeby Psychiatric Hospital in Southern England, during present time. This is due to the fact the play centers around Martin Dysart and his interactions with Alan Strang, so it would make sense that the treatment takes place at Dr. Dysart’s place of work. From time to time though there is flashes of different setting, mostly just scenes of Alan’s experiences, these include Alan’s bedroom, Alan’s place of work, the stables, and the beach, where Alan first encountered a real horse. Even though the main setting is the hospital, the place where most of the important details take place is inside of Alan’s mind, or the other smaller scenes. Alan’s place of work, the stables, was important on several accounts, one is where Alan was able to experience his worship and relationship with horses, and two it where his act of digression occurred, after he had just had relations with a woman. Another key minor setting was on the beach, when Alan had first encountered a real horse, which he became enraptured with, after having the horse picture form his father at the foot of his bed, this was a key point in which he actually becomes obsessed with horses.
Conflicts
The first noticeable one in Man vs Man, in which it is Dysart vs Alan, Dysart is trying to ‘help’ Alan, and Alan is initially resisting.
Man vs Self is a more prevalent conflict however, both Alan and Dysart show this, Alan through his inner turmoil that he needed to create his own world to live in, and Dysart through the fact that he begins questioning if his work is truly just and worth it.
Major Themes
One theme is how strongly should one believe in something. Alan chose to believe in the horses to the very end, which drove him insane. Martin had to believe that his work was helping people, so that he could carry on.
Another theme is the inner struggle one has with nature and outside pressure. Alan had been repressing his intimate desires since an early age, only discovering that these urges were completely natural. When he finally expressed it the pressure from his early childhood prevented him from overcoming t fully, causing an internal struggle, making him snap.
A semi-hidden theme is that the experiences a child had can change their entire lives. The fact that Alan had two opposing opinions enforced upon him as a child affected him negatively. When Alan’s father destroyed the picture of Christ, replacing it with a picture of horse that made Alan believe that horses were above god, hence the religious worship.
Symbols
Horses are, obviously, a large part of the play, they represent freedom and the ability to express freedom. It was Alan’s outlet to express himself, freed from the bonds of his normal life.
Religion in this book represented more beliefs than actual religion, because Alan worshiped the horses almost religiously.
While horses represent freedom the bits that the horses wear symbolize the shackles of life, which are removed when Alan is with the horses, riding free.
Images
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl-MgaVCUy0
MLA
"Equus." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 01 Apr. 2013. <http://0-www.britannica.com.libra.naz.edu/EBchecked/topic/1380493/Equus>.