The Playboy of the Western World Lesson Plan

It is likely no coincidence that Christy's name closely resembles Christ. Consider the father-son relationship of Christ and god versus how Synge manipulates that dynamic between Old Mahon and Christy.

At the heart of the New Testament is almighty God's sacrifice of his son, Jesus Christ, for the sake of mankind's salvation. Synge begins to invert this paradigm by having the son sacrifice the father. However, Christy doesn't do so for a greater good, but rather "kills" his father for his own personal gain - once he realizes how much power he wields as a father-killer, he wants to continue pervading that perception among the villagers.

In fact, Christy "kills" his...