The Role of Imagination in The Playboy of Western World by...

Imagination according to Oxford English Dictionary is defined as â€Å"the minds creativity and resourcefulness to invent images which have the tendency to form ideas which do not correspond to reality.† In â€Å"The Playboy of Western World† by John Millington Synge, the presence of imagination directs the outcome of the play. Synge uses Christy as a substitution to the existence of boredom, fear and insecurity. Christy gave a remark â€Å"I did not then. I just riz the loy and let fall the edge of it on the ridge of his skull, and he went down at my feet like an empty sack, and never let a grunt or groan from him at all.† Synge uses â€Å"just riz and loy† to describe the size of the weapon and emphasis the characters braveness for using such slight†¦show more content†¦Synge introduces Christy during this period in Mayo as a hero because of the colonial condition and the need for a brave man to face them. Christy becomes a sexual symbol in co unty Mayo and his heroic presence awakens the desires of women. Sara, Tansey, Susan, Honor Blake and Nelly brings gifts to Christy like the wise men in the bible in other to gain his attention. Honor said â€Å"Well, it’ll be a hard case if he’s gone off now, the way we’ll never set our eyes on a man killed his father, and we after rising early and destroying ourselves running fast on the hill.† Synge’s word choice â€Å"never set our eyes on a man killed his father† indicates the isolation of people in the western word. Christy’s tale about killing his father has spread so fast that even people located on the hills run to listen to him retell the incident and present him with gifts. His imagination of becoming well known, respected and feared grows as he receives countless attention from the girls in the society. It can be said that Synge is comparing Christy to the Jesus. This is because according to the bible, after the birth of J esus, the wise men brought gifts to Jesus and worship him because he was the new born savior. The village girls are worshiping Christy because he is a new hero and a protector for them. Synge makes a comparison to how Christy was treated in his own society to this new society. It is a result of those treatments that he is fascinated with the