Look Back in Anger
Critical Overview
Look Back in Anger has been recognized as a bombshell that blew up the old British theater. However, when Look Back in Anger opened as the third play in the repertory of the English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre (a company that had been founded the year before precisely to stimulate new writing that would have contemporary relevance), it was not an immediate success. The critical reaction was mixed, but many of the critics, whether or not they liked the play, acknowledged its merits and those of its young author. Cecil Wilson in the Daily Mail assessed Jimmy Porter as a "young neurotic who lives like a pig," whose "bitterness produces a fine flow of savage talk, but is basically a bore because its reasons are never explained."
By 1956 the British Empire had been shrinking for decades. With the granting of independence to India in 1947 after Gandhi's thirty years of struggle and the loss of African colonies and the near independence of the Commonwealth nations such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, the British Empire was all but gone. The Suez crises in 1956, in which Egypt refused to renew the British-owned Suez Canal Company's concession and which resulted in a disastrous and humiliating intervention by England, simply emphasized the lack of power wielded by Britain in the Post World War II world. There had also been incursions into the power structure since early Victorian times, with the ruling classes resisting every inch of the way.
Alienation and Loneliness
Jimmy Porter spoke for a large segment of the British population in 1956 when he ranted about his alienation from a society in which he was denied any meaningful role. Although he was educated at a "white-tile" ...
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...at least in a state of truce in the class warfare, ever after.
Inspiration
Look Back in Anger was a strongly autobiographical piece based on Osborne's unhappy marriage to Pamela Lane and their life in cramped accommodation in Derby. While Osborne aspired towards a career in theatre, Lane was of a more practical and materialistic persuasion, not taking Osborne's ambitions seriously while cuckolding him with a local dentist. It also contains much of Osborne's earlier life, the wrenching speech of seeing a loved one die is a replay of the death of Thomas, Osborne's father. What it is best remembered for though, is Jimmy's tirades against the mediocrity of middle-class English life, personified by his hated mother Nellie Beatrice. Madeline, the lost love Jimmy pines for, is based on Stella Linden, an older rep-company actress who first encouraged Osborne to write.
Langston Hughes “Theme for English B” and Gerald Graff’s essay “Hidden Intellectualism” portray racial separation and intellectual isolation, respectively. Hughes’ essay is poetic justice, and Graff’s is a call to arms. Hughes’ is short and to the point and is simply what it is, no arguing or convincing, just raw thought. Graff’s is highly intellectual; offering examples and reasoning, and it could even be seen as a not-quite-finished plea to the nation to reevaluate our education system. But the many differences in these articles are not what they seem. These so-called “differences” are really just distractions we choose to see on the surface, but in fact, the essays work together quite well. When examined closely, looking past the obvious surface differences, Hughes and Graff are essentially speaking about the same thing: social separation.
In the essay “Just Walk on by: Black Men and Public Space” Brent Staples shares his personal experiences as a young black male in the late 1900’s. He feels as if it is immensely hard to be accepted by everyone around him. Society assumes Staples to be a violent person and have a negative connotation about him because of the way he carries himself. Staples concludes that he would have to conform to the norms of society in order to feel accepted and not as an outsider due to his race. In order to feel accepted he changed certain characteristics like, the way he dressed, being calm when he was being pulled over by the police, and moving about with care and ease. These changes assured that he would no longer be looked at as a criminal. This essay is expressed with a lot of emotion and although it has much anger, a vibe of calmness is set throughout. Brent Staples does a phenomenal job opening the eyes of the outsider and reader by unmasking a racist and judgmental society through his word choice, literary devices, experiences, and emotions.
Prejudice is a cancer that spreads hate among its perpetrators and victims alike. In 1930 Langston Hughes penned the novel, Not Without Laughter. This powerful story, written from the perspective of an African-American boy named James “Sandy” Rodgers, begins in the early 1900’s in the small town of Stanton, Kansas. Through the eyes of young Sandy, we see the devastating impact of racism on his family and those they are close to. We also see how the generations of abuse by whites caused a divide within the black community. Among, and even within, black families there were several social classes that seemed to hinge on seeking equality through gaining the approval of whites. The class someone belonged to was determined by the color of their skin, the type of church one attended, their level of education, and where an individual was able to find work.
The 1920’s and 1950’s both shared the optimism that the conclusion of a war brings, and consequently both began very prosperously. While the materialism of the 20’s faded into the economic depression that followed, and the glow of the 1950’s was dimmed by the onset of communist fever, both decades proved to be successful and iconic in the way that they brought about massive prosperity, and because youth found new ways of expressing themselves and inviting progress. Unfortunately not all outcomes were good, and both eras triggered an onslaught of racial tension that would continue well into the future.
As I read Black Boy, Griffin provided me with a small insight on the way whites and blacks were differently treated. Black Like Me was based on a white man who wanted to get a better understanding of the life of negroes and how it feels to be treated unequally. He wanted to know what stood between the white man and black man, why they could not communicate. Griffin writes in his book that, “the only way I could see to bridge the gap between us was to become a Negro” (Griffin 1). His journey then began and he lived the life of a black man. It is with such bravery that he went and risked becoming a Negro. He knew that adverse consequences would occur once people knew the truth. He did not care; I was fascinated with his desire to see what...
The purpose of my memoir is to awaken the power of Sociological Imagination in an attempt to analyze my own life experiences through sociological lens in order to understand how my life and opportunities in society have been shaped by race, class and ethnicity.
There is no doubt that British imperialism had a large impact on India. India, having previously been an group of independent and semi-independent princedoms and territories, underwent great change under British administration. Originally intended to consolidate their hold on India by establishing a population that spoke the same language as their rulers, the British decision in the 1830s to educate Indians in a Western fashion, with English as the language of instruction, was the beginning of a chain of events, including a rise in Indian nationalism, that led to Indian resentment of British imperialism and ultimately to the loss of British control over India.
In 1857 the British had invaded the nation of Hindustan (India). Many feel that if it were not for the British Empire, India would still be an under developed country. The British established a government system that before did not exist. It was a three level system including the imperial government located in London, the central government located in Calcutta, and later on provincial governments scattered throughout the regions of what was known as the British Raj1. Alt...
There is no doubt that British imperialism had a large impact on India. From positive affects to negative affects, British colonized India. It all started around the 1600’s when the British East India Company entered India only as traders, they entered what was known the Mughal Empire. Around the 1757 Battle of Plassey the Mughal empire fell (Carrick) and it was only a matter of time until the British Raj took their once in a lifetime chance. Economically, Britain imposed very high tariffs even though they provided modern technology and increased the production of goods. Britain created famine in India, although because of Britain education was brought to a higher level. Politically, Britain had most of the control in the Indian government, although they created a much more stronger one than the one that was in use before the British came.
The British administered India for a period of about two centuries and brought about revolutionary changes in
14 August, 1947, saw the birth of the new Islamic Republic of Pakistan. At midnight the next day India won its freedom from colonial rule, ending nearly 350 years of British presence in India. During the struggle for freedom, Gandhi had written an appeal "To Every Briton" to free their possessions in Asia and Africa, especially India (Philips and Wainwright, 567). The British left India divided in two. The two countries were founded on the basis of religion, with Pakistan as an Islamic state and India as a secular one.
By the year 1857 the British had established complete political control of India. As Western education was introduced and missionaries eroded Hindu society resentment among Indian people grew and it was joined by unease among the old governing class when the British decided to formally abolish the Mughal Empire.
Whilst the growth of Indian nationalism put considerable pressure on the Raj, historians offer many interpretations as to the fundamental cause of Independence. Gandhi’s non-cooperation movement and subsequent campaigns meant that nationalism began to appeal to the masses and helped establish a broad based movement for Independence. However, the British were always able to supress the nationalist movements, through reform or by using force, up to the Quit India movement of 1942. British involvement in the Great War and particularly the Second World War placed them in a weaker position economically, whilst the social and political expectations of the Indian people were changing, which strengthened nationalism and discontent.
The British invasion formed into a historical development of British colonialism in India. Despite India under the British rule, Mahatma Gandhi played an important role in gaining Independence. He not only changed India but also strongly fought for India's independence, using various strategies. The British Empire ruled as long as they could to reform India both politically and socially.
One of the major themes that permeates throughout John Osborne’s play Look Back in Anger is the ideology of inequality among social classes. Osborne expresses these views on social class through the character of Jimmy— a hot headed, angry young man who vents about the injustices of class struggle. Jimmy holds much contempt for his wife Alison's entire past, which reveals his utmost hatred of the classes above him. Jimmy sees class-based entitlement as the basis of all that's wrong with the world, and his struggle is portrayed through his feverous verbal rebellion against the principles ingrained in current society. Ultimately, Jimmy can be viewed as a kind of “spokesperson” for the lower class, despite the fact that he never takes any physical action to carry out the ideas he proclaims throughout the play.