Notes on “Look Back in Anger” by John Osborne (Comentários de

exame)
Document 1

(…) as those affected by Margaret Thatcher´s government

policies. In “Look back in Anger”, we see that the
characters, mainly Jimmy and Alison´s father feel a kind
of abandon on the part of the government (although for
opposite reasons –n.), they don´t trust either the
promises or the policies of the government. In Jimmy
Porter we feel the contradictions and the differences
between the upper and the middle classes. Jimmy is the
only one who feels that difference and he is therefore
angry.
During Thatcher´s government, the situation was
practically the same because her ideologies were hard
work, self-help, patriotism, law and order. She was
against the welfare state because
for her people had to deserve what they wanted, so they
had to struggle to reach their aims. By this time poor
people were in someway deprived of certain privileges and
suffered the consequences of the establishment of the
income and pool taxes. There was tremendous unemployment,
bad housing conditions, race riots and the gap between
the” poorer north” and the “rich(er) south” grew bigger.
In Look back in Anger, Jimmy lives in permanent conflict
with his wife Alison, who comes from a higher social class
than he- his origins are lower-middle class. He is aware
of class differences and “loves” his occupation ,which
gives him the opportunity of contacting “his people”.

Document 2
(…) The social origin of the main characters portrayed in
Look back in Anger is quite different: Jimmy and Cliff
originated from the working classes, Alison, Jimmy´s wife
came from the upper-middle class.
Government policies had a great influence on the behaviour
of some characters, specially on Jimmy, once the policy of
free education for everyone that was implemented in his
youth, allowed working class youths to climb up the
British social class system.
On the one hand, this was positive but on the other hand,
young men like Jimmy, who came from the working class,
didn´t know where to fit. Jimmy ,for example, was trapped
in a limbo of no social class. Despite having studied to
belong to the upper-middle class, he can´t do it once he
considers that a betrayal to his origins.
In this period (the 50´s) government policies were
responsible for a state of apathy and conformism that had
settled in the British society, and the same policies were
also responsible for the substitution of moral values for
materialism and consumerism, which in a certain way
affected and contaminates some characters like Jimmy, who
despite criticising and abusing his society was
contaminated by its lethargy. Margaret Thatcher´s policies
had also made the youth suffer, since unemployment rose
when she came to Westminster and her reluctance towards
Europe prevented Britain from a greater economic
development.

Document 3

(…)Jimmy Porter belongs to the angry young men and he

doesn´t conform(?)about his way of life. He lost trust in
politicians who promse to help all people.

Margaret Thatcher once said: “ there´s no such a thing as

society, only individual men and women, and families”. She
defended self-help, hard work and patriotism and fought
against the power that trade unions had. She also defended
free trade without any kind of interference by the state.
Of course there was the welfare state that garanteed help
to those in need that were ill or unemployed. But soon the
welfare state services became a problem because even when
people could afford private services, they still used the
official ones. So M. Thatcher had to cut public
expenditures and this caused the poor to become poorer. In
the end only the “haves” won and the “have nots” were in a
worse sitution
But this wasn´t the only problem. Britain had just lost
its empire and therefore a part of its influence in world
affairs and also self-confidence.

Document 4

(…)Jimmy Porter was a graduate from one of the new

universities created after the war, so with little
prestige. In spite of his schooling, Jimmy ran a mobile
candy shop. He came from a lower class and mainly because
of that he criticized his wife Alison for coming from a
higher class (her father was a former colonel in India).
Jimmy hated alison´s social class so much that many times
his hatred was more powerful than his love for her and
this caused their separation. Cliff, who shared the rented
flat with the couple also came from the lower classes. He
helped Jimmy with his candy shop.
Thatcher´s government and the other before hers carried
out policies to put an end to the economic crisis against
which the country was struggling. It put measures of
control of the expenses into action. The sector where more
cuts were made was the social one. The government stopped
social assistance, originating more and more social
difference and a greater social separation.
The lower classes were the ones who faced more economic
and social problems and difficulties. The consumerism was
much lesser than before, measures were thus taken to
prevent the rising of the prices of the goods what proved
terrible for the owners of small companies and shops, like
Jimmy and many immigrants from the former British
colonies.
These people were marginalized by the British society,
they were seen as intruders and were blamed for the social
problems, the unemployment and the high criminality.

DOCUMENT 5

After the fall of the British Empire the economy of the

country had a great development. So its policies are
commonly known as the Welfare State. The government
provided money ,free medical care for people who were
unemployed or too old to work and improved education for
all social classes. Jimmy Porter, one of the main
characters of Look Back in Anger, was raised while these
policies were in course. He went to university but when he
finished his degree the Welfare State policies were over
because due to this situation there was somewhat a sense
of apathy and people made no efforts to improve their
situation, so unemployment raised and the nationalism of
several companies didn´t work out. The cost of this kind
of policy could not be supported by the new government
(Margaret Thatcher´s).
She cut down the expenses with social issues but did not
work out either and the people were discontent. Only the
Falkland war gave Margaret Thatcher a re-election.

Document 6

The 50´s were a decade of social changes, due to some

policies carried out in a lot of political areas, such as
education. The Welfare State provided people with a better
standard of living, and the government allowed people to
study, have a higher level of education, thus leaving the
working class and belonging to a middle or lower middle-
class. But the better standard of living also provided the
growth of materialism and consumerism. If there were some
people who conformed with the situation, there were, on
the other hand, some who did not enjoy it, as was the case
with the so-called “angry young men”.
In “Look back in Anger” there are conformist characters,
such as Alison and Helena, and the non-conformist, such as
Jimmy. He is revolted with his situation (…)

Document 7

Margaret Thatcher´s government believed in the principles

of labour philosophy that people were able to become
whatever they wanted, they believed in self-confidence,
self-determination and self-assurance. Thatcher did not
agree with the social policies that had been followed for
decades, the welfare state had to provide for the health
and welfare services and help people in case of poverty,
unemployment, old age or sickness. Actually, Thatcher
supported that the Welfare State made people
irresponsible, careless and lazy about their own lives.
Thatcher had promised to stop Britain´s decline but she
did not succeed. The industrial production had fallen by
10%, the manufacturing production had fallen by 17% and
unemployment had risen. However, the most serious
accusation against her was that she was creating a more
unequal society, a society of “two nations”, the rich
south and the poor north. John Osborne characterized that
unequal society in the characters of “ Look Back in
Anger”. Jimmy Porter comes from the working classes but
Alison comes from a higher class. Despite his humble
origins, he went to university but ends up selling candy
in a sweet-stall.
There is a relationship between M. Thatcher´s government
and the play, the past represents greatness and stable
values and the present represents futility and loss of
values, a time where there are no more brave causes left.
(…)