Themes

Imagination

‘Captain Pathos’ deals with a variety of themes, however, one of the central themes is Imagination. The vast majority of this play is based around the imagination of a young boy of ten, named Martin. Martin uses his imagination to escape and deal with the issues he experiences during his life. Martin also learns valuable lessons using his imagination and it also helps him to connect with one of his classmates, Rose.

When Martin is in trouble at school, with his parents and his teacher, Martin escapes on an imaginary adventure, accompanied by his imaginary friends. This imaginary adventure eventually allows Martin to understand what he has done wrong, and that he has to change his behaviour. Martin’s family is also unhappy, and he does not seem to have many friends at his school. Due to this, the creation of this imaginary friends provide him with necessary companionship, and allow him to deal with issues he is experiencing, in regards to loneliness.

Friendship

Friendship is another important theme in the play. Martin appears to be quite a lonely child, so he has created imaginary friends, who have the characteristics he would like his friends. For example, Spock is his best friend, who is very much like Martin, however he is more experienced, and more mature than Martin, and can therefore guide him. There is also Tengu, the ninja, who is secretly lonely, and Martin is his only friend. This is another of Martin’s imaginary friends that he can relate to, in relation to loneliness. There is also Madonna, who is a mother-like figure to Martin. There are many other imaginary friends which Martin has created for himself. In the end, Martin makes a non-imaginary friend, a girl named Rose, as both characters have been seeking the friendship of another.

Differences

As a ten year -ld child, Martin has most likely had a limited experience with people who are vastly different from himself. Because of this, when he meets Rose, the new student at his school, who eats different food and has different looking parents to himself, he assumes that she is a witch. However, one he gets to know Rose, he comes to accept their differences, and they become friends. This also happens with his imaginary friends. Wesley, who is bright blue, is in denial about his colour. When he eventually accepts that he is blue, he is uncomfortable with his appearance, and fears that he will be judged, and will not fit in. However, Wesley eventually comes to appreciate his uniqueness, and the other imaginary friends, Martin and Rose, all love his unusual colouring.

Responsibility

Throughout the play, Martin is forced to tackle responsibility and eventually become a more responsible child. Sir Frank shows Martin his ability to choose his destiny and think about the consequences of his actions. This leads Martin to thinking about responsibility.