Look Back in Anger

Drama | John Osborne

Describe the role of Jimmy Porter in the play “Look Back in Anger.”

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Describe the role of Jimmy Porter in the play Look Back in Anger Or how far is Jimmy Porter spokesman of the post-war youth in England John Osborne s - play Look Back in Anger shows the life of Jimmy Porter Jimmy is a young man filled with anger frustration and pain He represents the voice of the post-war youth in England Through him Osborne shows how the younger generation felt lost and hopeless after World War II Jimmy s anger is not just personal it speaks for all those who were disappointed with modern society A Picture of the Angry Young Man Jimmy Porter is the main character and the angry young man of the play He is educated but poor intelligent but full of bitterness He has a university degree However he runs a small sweet stall because society gives him no better chance He tried many things

such as journalism advertising even vacuum cleaners for a few weeks However there are no better opportunities for educated young men like him with a lower-middle-class background This shows the frustration of post-war youth They had education but no proper jobs Jimmy says I learned at an early age what it was to be angry His anger actually comes from inequality and class divisions in post-war England Conflict with the Upper Class Jimmy s wife Alison comes from an upper-class family Jimmy always fights with her because he hates the cruel emotionless attitude of her class He feels that rich people have no real feelings and no understanding of life s pain Through this marriage Osborne shows the clash between the new lower-middle-class youth and the traditional upper class Jimmy says bitterly that Alison s friends live in a different world His anger at her family background shows the class struggle in post-war Britain Search for Real Feelings Behind his shouting and cruelty Jimmy is really searching for love and understanding He hates the dull and empty life around him He wants real emotions not polite manners He says Let s pretend that we re human beings and that we re actually alive His loud anger is a cry for warmth and truth in a world that feels dead Even when he hurts Alison with words he only wants her to react to feel something real This shows that Jimmy s anger comes from emotional hunger not hatred Symbol of the Disappointed Youth Jimmy s frustration stands for the disappointment of the whole post-war generation After the war young people in England expected change and hope But they only found boredom and hypocrisy Society became materialistic and lifeless We understand this when Alison says Jimmy is hurt because everything is the same It shows that the new generation could not find progress in post-war Britain They feel stuck Hence Jimmy shouts against everything he finds dishonest His anger is not only personal but social A Man Who Cannot Adjust Jimmy also shows the tragedy of a man who cannot adjust to the world around him He has sharp intelligence but no direction His constant anger destroys his marriage and friendships His friend Cliff leaves and Alison goes away too When Alison returns after losing her baby Jimmy becomes softer For a short time he learns sympathy This ending shows that Jimmy s anger is really a mask for pain and loneliness In Look Back in Anger Jimmy Porter is both an individual and a symbol He represents the angry young men of s England who were tired of class barriers and emotional emptiness His voice is loud cruel and restless but honest Through him Osborne gave new life to modern British drama Jimmy speaks for a generation that wanted truth passion and purpose in a world that had lost all three

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