Womens Depression; The Other Side of Look Back in Anger

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                                                                   Assignment

                           Women’s Depression;

The Other Side of ‘Look Back in Anger’

Submitted by:

ANFAL. M,

(Roll No: H-1411),

MA English

                                                          Submitted to:

Dr. Subrahmanyam sir.

PWBD Course,

Department of American and Caribbean Literature,

School of English Literature,

EFL University, Hyderabad


The world of English drama, especially the modern ones, carries many specialties in both themes and structures which could even lead to many literary as well as cultural movements for their credits. Same way, the ‘Look Back in Anger’, a much celebrated as well as highly influenced drama in British society , written by an English middle-class modern writer John Osborn, did spread more views and comments by introducing an ‘angry young man’ living in British society. Certainly, the play did much to kindle a new energy and method of thinking in the middle class British society, after a long period of hesitating rule of unimpressive royal and upper class themes and styles in the British drama.

But, whatever actions or influences did the play may had brought in the British middle class society when it presented an educated middle class ‘angry man’ named as Jimmy Porter as symbol of whole depressed middle class people in Britain after the second world war, it bears a never ignorable curse of woman society, who are represented in the play by Alison Porter, an impassive and totally broken down character of the play, and Helena Charles, a morally religious woman.

Masculinity Reigns Feminine

Obviously, Jimmy Porter is expressing his frustration for the lack of feelings in his quiet domestic life. He is depressed by not finding a proper consideration toward him and his thoughts and passions from his relatives and surroundings. He blasts with his furious heart toward the still conventional hegemonies existed in the British culture. It is true that he undergoes to the rule of British upper class society who denies him a proper way of living and thinking though he is an educated man from one of the “white tiled”, not “red bricked” universities in London. He laments over the sleeping British people and for loss of British power and rule in the world which they enjoyed some years ago and thus their place in the world was replaced by America. Through a close analysis, it could be understood that Jimmy stands for a great number of middle class people in Britain after their country got paralyzed by the destructive effect of Second World War.

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A crucial study on the character of Jimmy Porter, however, portrays that his roaring anger and unhealed hatred mentality toward the women characters in the play, is an unbearable insult toward the women society. Alison Porter, Jimmy’s wife who comes from Britain’s upper class family, is considered a highly pitied victim for Jimmy’s non merciful and irritating humiliation to her, though he is expressing his contempt toward the upper class family status and royal background of Alison. Jimmy considers his mild-hearted wife as she represents all misdeeds done by British upper class society and thus, he maximum exploits the feminine ...

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