The Playboy of the Western World is a story about conformity and rebellion against the law. In the play, Shawn Keogh is the ultra-conservative figure who bows to the law with deference and meekness. At the other extreme, Christy Mahon is the rebellious figure who rebels against the law by posing as the perpetrator of parricide and the criminal of the justice system. In the play, the law is depicted as an oppressive social institution that stifles the expression of a person's individuality. The law-abiding Shawn is portrayed as an uninspiring character whose individuality is totally stifled by the law of society, while the rebellious Christy is portrayed as a flamboyant individualist who exudes vigor and individuality as he breaks free from the law. By freeing himself from legal constraints, Christy becomes a supreme individualist who rises above the law and society, while the conservative Shawn possesses no individual character and remains a slave to the legal system. Through the contrast of these two characters, the play suggests that Ireland could also gain its unique individual character by freeing itself from the oppressive domination of the British legal system in the manner of Christy rather than remaining a passively occupied country that meekly obeys . British law Shawn's way. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Shawn is the most law-abiding and God-fearing character in the play. Throughout the play, Shawn demonstrates a deferential attitude toward law and morality. He is the model of a law-abiding citizen and is described several times by those around him as an “honest man” (13). He is saddled with all kinds of legal and moral obligations and is prohibited from doing anything that is contrary to the law. Shawn is fully subject to the laws of the Church and is patiently awaiting the holy dispensation of the bishops to marry. He is constantly afraid of breaking Church rules. His deference to religious authority is such that he fears finding himself alone in the company of his fiancée before he has obtained an appropriate legal dispensation from the Church. His obedience to secular criminal law is also remarkable. Upon learning of Christy's parricide, he is the only person in the room not amused by her crime. He immediately identifies Christy as a "bloody-handed murderer" (20) and an evil figure, rather than applauding him as the hero of a glorious feat like everyone else. In the play, Shawn operates strictly within conventional legal boundaries and is locked within both legal and moral constraints. However, rather than applauding Shawn as an exemplary law-abiding citizen, the author portrays him as a vapid and uninteresting character who is subjugated. to many social institutions such as the law and the Church. His servile subjugation to these social institutions devours his individuality. The audience never witnesses any active expression of their individual character; rather, his individuality is expressed entirely through his servile relationships with these legal and social institutions. Rather than behaving as a sovereign individual capable of independent feeling and judgment, Shawn resembles a robot who mechanically obeys the precepts of the law, both secular and religious, without any mental reflection on his part. His passive softness toward the law turns him into part of the larger moral framework, making him the complete opposite of an individualist. Through the depiction of Shawn's slavish submission to the law, the law ispresented as an oppressive social institution that restricts individual freedom by hindering the expression of individuality. Unlike Shawn, Christy is someone who rises above the law and the legal establishment. Even though Christy begins as a "law-fearing man" (20) at the beginning of the play, he chooses to rebel against the law by posing as a parricide. Christy explains his act of murder by telling his audience that he hits his father in a fit of rage after forcefully persuading him to marry a certain widow, which he refuses to do. By acting like someone who murders his father in defense of his freedom and independence, Christy reveals himself to be a radical individualist who tramples the laws of coercive legal authority in order to defend his individual sovereignty and freedom. By murdering her father, Christy eliminates the authority figure from her life and is now free to become her own master. Christy presents himself as someone who believes in radical personal freedom and is willing to break legal restrictions to achieve it. After defying the law by committing her imaginary crime, Christy develops greatly as an individual. Christy, sexually shy and cowardly, who was once the "fool of men" (58) and the "joke of all women" (49), transforms into a "world champion" (58) who exudes confidence and boasts with self-confidence. The Christy who once hid in plain sight from women now wins every sport and boldly pursues Pegeen. Christy's astonishing evolution illustrates the oppressive nature of the legal institution. Only by breaking the law does Christy truly release her individuality and develop into a full person. Christy frees himself from the oppression of the law by freeing himself from legal constraints, thereby transforming himself into an emancipated individualist, free from legal coercion and free to fully develop his individuality. By acting as someone who breaks the law and detaches himself from the larger moral framework of society, Christy transforms himself into a supreme individualist. Breaking the law allows Christy to rise above the shackling constraints of the law and society, rather than becoming the law's obedient slave in the manner of the conservative Shawn. The Irish community in the play initially presents itself as a law-abiding society. The audience learns from Michael that the liquor house's consumers are all "in good faith" (14), which shows the community's respect for the law. However, the community quickly reveals a rebellious, law-breaking spirit beneath its law-abiding facade. When Christy reveals himself to the community as the perpetrator of the parricide, the people of the community applaud him to the heavens as the valiant hero of a glorious deed. Rather than handing Christy over to the police, the people view the illegal act of parricide as a great deed. As one member of the community puts it, the man who dared to break the law by killing his father “would find himself facing a cunning devil with a pike on the flags of hell” (19). The community's deep admiration for Christy's crime clearly reveals his hidden law-breaking spirit. In the play, the police are called the "peelers", after the English Prime Minister Robert Peel who created the justice system. This shows that Ireland is an occupied land and that the police work under the British legal system by “selling judgments of English law” (37). The entire legal system is therefore an instrument of foreign oppression. By breaking the law, Christy can almost be seen as someone who bravely resists the oppressive British legal system. In this way, the violation of., 1960.