IIMJ. ISSN- 23487135. IF 5.2. Approved Journal serial no. 48653.

(69-72)

Themes in look back in anger

Adhika Hrishikesh Chougule

6-A , Nishant Soc. 585/38 Salisbury Park. Maharastra, India
Abstract
John James Osborne is a pioneer of ‘Kitchen Sink Drama’ which flourished during 1950’s.
Many writers followed his writing style. He is also credited for his phrase “Angry Young Man”.
His writing Style differs from the previous generation playwrights. The Kitchen Sink Drama’s
that he wrote differed from those of ‘well-made plays’, which brought the humdrum life of
working class people into light. He used the non-traditional themes which were appreciated by
the working class. To appreciate his work we have to apprehend the themes.
So this paper will try to examine the themes in ‘Look Back in Anger’.
Keywords
Kitchen Sink Drama, Anger Young Man, Well-made Plays, Humdrum life.

Introduction

John Osborne was born in 1929 in London and died on 1994. He was an English playwright,
screenwriter and an actor. He was the first writer to address Britain’s purpose in the post-
imperial age. After his schooling he shifted to London to stay with his mother. There he tried
trade journalism, while working he was introduced to theatre by one of his workmate. The first
work he published was ‘The Devil Inside Him’ with his mentor Stella Linden. In 1950, he
published his second work ‘Personal Enemy’ with Anthony Creighton, with whom he also wrote
‘Epitaph for George Dillon’.

In 1956 he wrote ‘Look Back in Anger’. The play was written within 17 days while he was
performing in creaky rep show called ‘Seagulls over Sorrento’. The play was appreciated by
people. The play is an element is autobiographical work of Osborne where he depicts his
personal troubled life with Pamela Lane Jimmy Potter in the play is the main character, his also
called the Angry young man, through his character we can see Osborne’s personal life were
Alison potter is Pamela Lane. The play deals with the troubled marriage, class discrimination
and sex’s differences, which can be seen through the themes.

1. Kitchen Sink Drama: the term ‘kitchen sink drama’ was used to describe the British
cultural movement that was developed in1950 and 1960’s. In theatre, art, novels, etc., the
heroes were usually shown as the ‘angry young men’. They used the domestic social style to
depict the real life situations of the working class people. Like in ‘Look Back in Anger’ the
Act 1 opens in attic room at the top of a large Victorian House.

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There we can see the kitchen, gas stove, dining table, double bed, ironing board, food
cupboard all on the stage. The previous living room setting was changed to kitchen. The term
was derived from expressionist painting of John Bratby. The paintings by him were of
kitchen sink, his themes for painting were kitchen, bathroom, and toilets. This type of drama
showed the regular life of ordinary people who were struggling against the degeneration of
powerlessness. The playwrights like John Osborne, John Arden, Arnold Wesker, and
Shelagh Delaney called themselves as ‘Kitchen Sink Dramatist’.

2. Angry Young Man: The play was first themed as ‘Angry Young Man’. The term was
described as a generation of post-world war 2 artists and working class were leftist, anarchist,
politics. According to cultural critics, these young men were not a part of any organisation
movement but instead, individuals angry at a post-Victorian Britain that refused to
acknowledge their social and class alienation. As in the play, the protagonist Jimmy Potter is
considered as the ‘Angry Young Man’ as he shows the anger against the society, class
discrimination, lack of opportunities. The another reason for his anger was in 1950’s there
was a movement where the people from the working class were shifting to middle class but
they were not allowed to have the pleasures of the middle class people and they were still not
accepted as the middle class and so the reason for Jimmy’s anger was, the strict rule and
barriers of the class structure they were not able to enjoy the luxurious of the middle class.

3. Class War: In 1950’s there was a movement “Welfare of State” (it means classless
structure of the society) by which the people of working class were changing to middle class,
but they were halted on the margins of both the classes as the older policies were still
followed and there was rigidity of the middle class and that’s why the people from the
working class didn’t enjoy the privileges of the middle class. This is the reason Jimmy is
angry on the society as it is maintained through his education, occupation, work, etc. this we
come to know in dialogue of Cliff when he talks with Alison in Act 1,

Cliff: Well, I suppose he and I think the same about a lot of things, because we’re alike in
some ways. We both come from working people if you like. Oh I know some of his mother’s
relatives are pretty posh, but he hates them as much as he hates yours. Don’t quite know
why. Anyways, he gets on with me because I’m common. (Grins) common as dirt, that’s me.

The lower class people had the desire for the power on cultural life, as the cultural life
was represented only by the upper class people and lower class were not allowed to
participate and that’s why Jimmy was commenting on the novels, newspaper, etc., as he
wanted to be the part of cultural life but was not allowed.

4. Aimless and routine life of post-war English society: In the play there is realistic
description of the post-war English society by which young generation was affected. There
was dissatisfaction of the youth to routine life lead by them, like on Sunday’s it was followed
by reading newspapers, drinking tea and ironing clothes. In the play, Jimmy is tired of the
same routine of Sunday were he and Cliff reads newspaper and Alison irons the clothes, were
they show no enthusiasm for anything.

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Jimmy says, “oh heavens, how I long for a little ordinary human enthusiasm. Just
enthusiasm that’s all.” He complains it and goes to Cliff. “I have an idea, why don’t we play
a game? Let’s pretend that we’re human beings, and that we are alive.”

Jimmy is more irritated by routine life which has no hopes, excitement, as there’s
nothing happening around him like in home and society.

“Nobody think, nobody cares. No beliefs, no convictions and no enthusiasm.”

This shows the dullness of life and society.

5. Misogyny: misogyny basically means the hatred for women or girls. According to
sociologist Allan G. Johnson, “misogyny is a cultural attitude of hatred for females because
they are females.”

In British society it happened when the males who were out in the colonies ruling on
them, came back to their homes, their superiority in their domestic world was lost as the
domestic world was ruled by women and there was no or they were not getting space to
dominate their own world and this lead to misogyny. Osborne was accused of glorifying
cruelty towards women and homosexuals. In the play, we see Jimmy’s anger on Alison and
her mother and also on Helena, basically he hates all kinds of woman and this can be seen
through his dialogue in Act 1, when he tells Cliff of the girls below his apartment,
Jimmy, (moving upstage) she’d drop your guts like hair clips, and fluff all over the
floor.
I had a flat underneath a couple of girls once. You heard every damned thing those bastards
did, all day and night. I used to plead with them. I even got to screaming the most ingenious
obscenities I could think of, up the stairs at them. But nothing, nothing would move them with
those two, even a simple visit to the lavatory sounded like a medieval siege. Oh, they beat me
in the end- I had to go. I expect they’re still at it. Or they’re probably married now, and
driving some other poor devils out of their minds. Slamming their doors, stamping their
heels, banging their irons and saucepans- the eternal flaming racket of the female.

6. Loss of empire: In 1950 Britain lost its colonies and the American’s took over. When the
men came back to their homeland, they didn’t had the space to show their masculinity as the
homeland was dominated by the women and this also happened because of ‘The Welfare
state’. After the World War 2 the women started going out for work. In the play, the loss of
empire is represented by Colonel Redfern, father of Alison. Colonel Redfern was in India
ruling there for many years. His happy movements were in the Edwardian Age, when Britain
was in power. The world was under control of Americans, the people were sadden by the
thought that they were not in power anymore. We come to know about this when Jimmy in
Act 1 tells about Colonel Redfern to Cliff,

Jimmy says, “Who was it? (Pause)well, you wouldn’t know anyway. I hate to admit but I
think I can understand how her Daddy must have felt when he came back from India, after

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all those years away. The old Edwardian brigade do make their brief little world look pretty
tempting.

7. Marriage: The martial theme that is portrayed by Osborne in the play, depicts the social
condition in that period. In that period the marriages were not very successful and the divorce
rate was high. We can understand this by the relationship of Jimmy and Alison, they both got
married as they loved each other. Alison married Jimmy opposing to her parents and it was
like Jimmy won the war by marrying the aristocratic class woman. There was also emotional
cruelty, domestic pain, and emptiness in their relationship. They always came together in a
fairy tale or the world of escape bears and squirrels. It was shows that Jimmy was not loyal
to Alison as when Alison leaves house, he develops a love relationship with Helena.
The iron board that is presented in Act 1 where Alison is always ironing symbolises the
stability in their relationship and in the latter part of Act 1 the iron board collapses shows the
instability in their relationship and Alison leaves. The iron board is then replaced by Helena
in Act 3. In theme we also see the autobiographical element of Osborne and his first wife
Pamela, as Osborne also had issues with her and it also gives the glimpse of his affairs as in
the character of Helena.

Conclusion

John Osborne’s ‘Look Back in Anger’ is an epoch making play in modern times. It
shows the post-war generation, their feelings and thoughts about the war and previous
era. The effects of loss of empire in the minds of British’s. It was shows the role of
women in this era was changing. There is change in domestic, social and political
environment after the World War.

Reference

“Look Back in Anger” John Osborne, Published by Faber and Faber Limited, London, 1957
www.wikipedia.com
www.gradesaver.com
www.enotes.com

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