Peter Schaffer tells his play "Equus" from the point of view of Martin Dysart, who acts as one of the two main characters, and the narrator of the play. Dysart relates the events of the play to the audience as though he is relating a story to his wife, or to a friend. This is done for two primary reasons. The first is that Dysart, the sane character, is able to objectively relate and analyze the events of the play to the audience. The second is that, Dysart, as an accepted member of modern civilization, is able to relate to modern civilization the events of Alan's life, insomuch as Alan is not an accepted member of modern society. Because of this, modern society can understand the problems of Alan, who does not fit into modern society. Such thoughts allow modern audiences to reflect on modernity through Dysart's own reflections.
Equus