When talking about masterpieces in English theater, John Osborne´s “Look back in anger” must be mentioned. Kenneth Tynan, critic for The Observer in 1956, claimed the play to be “the first totally original play of a new generation” (Bond, 1999). The main character, Jimmy Porter, breaks the mold of the “knight in a shining armour” and brings on scene the “angry young man”. Behind Jimmy´s fiery, outshining monologues stands his friend Cliff and his wife, Alison. Many critics define Alison as a passive character, victim of Jimmy´s rage. But this assumption impedes us to discover another reality behind her silence. In this essay I argue that Alison is not really a passive character and how the couple is just evading reality with the figures of
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Quigley: “Jimmy’s attacks on Alison repeatedly focus on what he perceives as her lethargy, her timidity, and her readiness to accept whatever comes her way” (p. 14). Before moving on, let´s develop these ideas around Alison. Both her actions— jumping around like a squirrel or throwing a cup in the floor (Act II)— and some pieces in Jimmy´s discourse— “Oh, it’s not that she hasn’t her own kind of passion. She has the passion of a python.” (Act I)— become evidence of a passionate, opinionated, loving and sacrificed woman. What may appear as lethargy could be a tiredness from evading her husband´s endless attacks and avoiding confrontation; but why does she acts that way?
Afolayan, in “Poetics of Anger in John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger and Femi Osofisan’s The Chattering and the Song.”, …show more content…
The fury in Jimmy is nothing but a cover: he is nostalgic and anchored to the past—the glorious time of England is coming to an end, while America gains power, invading politics and culture—; he is resentful for the opportunities he could never get (unlike Nigel, Alison´s brother) because he is nothing but an educated working-class man; he had to struggle to have a fairly decent “life”, being “a young man without money” (Act I?), not as Alison´s family and friends; he “learnt at an early age what it was to be angry- angry and helpless”, (Act II) by experiencing his father´s death; he feels rejection, thinking than for the love of his life he is nothing but “a dirty word” (Act I); and he has nobody to share those feelings
Quigley: “Jimmy’s attacks on Alison repeatedly focus on what he perceives as her lethargy, her timidity, and her readiness to accept whatever comes her way” (p. 14). Before moving on, let´s develop these ideas around Alison. Both her actions— jumping around like a squirrel or throwing a cup in the floor (Act II)— and some pieces in Jimmy´s discourse— “Oh, it’s not that she hasn’t her own kind of passion. She has the passion of a python.” (Act I)— become evidence of a passionate, opinionated, loving and sacrificed woman. What may appear as lethargy could be a tiredness from evading her husband´s endless attacks and avoiding confrontation; but why does she acts that way?
Afolayan, in “Poetics of Anger in John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger and Femi Osofisan’s The Chattering and the Song.”, …show more content…
The fury in Jimmy is nothing but a cover: he is nostalgic and anchored to the past—the glorious time of England is coming to an end, while America gains power, invading politics and culture—; he is resentful for the opportunities he could never get (unlike Nigel, Alison´s brother) because he is nothing but an educated working-class man; he had to struggle to have a fairly decent “life”, being “a young man without money” (Act I?), not as Alison´s family and friends; he “learnt at an early age what it was to be angry- angry and helpless”, (Act II) by experiencing his father´s death; he feels rejection, thinking than for the love of his life he is nothing but “a dirty word” (Act I); and he has nobody to share those feelings