Yes Strang, not strange. Because despite what people say about him, Alan Strang is not "strange" or "queer" or "odd". He does not "move to the beat of a different drummer" or "in his own little world." Alan Strang is a fictional human being who is probably more sane and certainly more perceptive than the rest of all. Sure, he has his quirks, but don't we all? Alan Strang is simply a boy, creative and intelligent, at times too much so for his own good.
Alan Strang certainly appears crazy, as many of the geniuses, both good and bad, seem to. He is not. Many of the things he does, like singing commercial jingles, is simply to hid feelings, things he does not want to talk about. And don't we all do something to that extent? I know that I certainly try to change the subject when the topic reaches potentially threatening areas. Then there's the screaming in his dreams every night. "Ek! Ek!' It frightens his nurse and befuddles Martin Dysart, his psychologist. Once again, it is something we all do. I know that I have been known to talk in my sleep, and people that have gone through traumatic experiences must have nightmares that seem so real they can't control themselves. Then we find out that "Ek" is short for Equus, his mythical God of horses that he worships in almost a cult fashion. Finally proof of craziness? Guess again. How many of us have pieces of our lives that we devote an almost fanatical religious part of ourselves to? All of us. Be it marching band, football, or a fad (like vampires), we all are to some extent a member of a "cult." Does this make us crazy? If the candlelight ceremony that he conducts in his basement, complete with chanting, is considered disturbing, than what about the many National Honors Society inductees that must light a candle and recite a chant together to complete membership? National Honors Society is a highly respected organization. Are they all mentally disturbed? No, Alan Strang is not crazy. He is, however, a powerful individual.
In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlet often contemplates how it is that some men can act on impulse and in others the man's hand is restrained. Alan Strang faces no such constraint. He is altogether a more free person than Hamlet, his only goal in life in being as close as possible to the animals he worships. Alan is ruled by passion, by a driving force that makes him think that horses are watching his every move. Piece by piece we begin to understand what made him this way, from an overly religious mother to an unforgiving and not understanding father. Most likely he was always different and picked on, and Dad thought that he should just toughen up. But perhaps it wasn't the parents. Even Peter Shaffer says in his foreword that oftentimes too much blame is assigned to the parent. Maybe Alan was always this way, and this was bound to happen. Sometimes there are people in the world born with too much passion and simply not enough reason to control it. Or maybe opposite that, perhaps society judges too harshly those that put their passion in front of reason. Nothing really is wrong with Alan Strang.
Perhaps the most proving aspect of Alan's complete and total sanity is his perception into Dr. Dysart's personal life. Within days he figures out how to get out information from the nurses and other patients, and demands answers for answers, to a point where at times it becomes unclear as to who is psychologist and who is patient. He asks questions about dreams, Dysart's wife, and accuses him of being a "swiz." Alan is manipulative and dangerous and passionate, but not crazy. Never crazy.
No comments:
Post a Comment