suggests that Alison’s life did not turn out the way she had hoped.
The setting of the play is symbolic of 1950s domesticity. The apartment is filled with worn-out
furniture, old newspapers and old clothing, which are representative of the characters and their
lifestyles. Like these items, Jimmy, Alison and Cliff have been put away and separated from the
upper class society of Britain. The mood of the apartment is very monotonous and Jimmy adds to
this by highlighting their repetitious lifestyles. “Why do I do this every Sunday?” The rhetorical
question not only emphasises their weekly routines, but also has connotations of religion.
Jimmy’s comment about the “American age” brings about his reminiscence for the former British
Empire. He is both antagonistic towards those that refuse to believe that such an empire does not
exist anymore, such as Alison’s father who he ridicules as a fool, and yet he is also fiercely patriotic,
an emotion he equates with living a real life. This conflict is yet another example of the struggle of
Jimmy within himself. The British Empire, thus, represents for Jimmy a point in history in which the
Englishman was allowed to truly live as himself. This American age is “dreary” in comparison “unless
you’re an American.”
Jimmy’s trumpet playing is representative of Britain’s fascination with Black American jazz culture in
the twentieth century. By presenting the element of Jazz music in the form of Jimmy playing the
trumpet, Osborne is exhibiting his attraction for a culture which he believes is truly alive. This is a
common theme in several works of mid-twentieth century white English culture, from literature to
popular music. Osborne here suggests that black jazz culture is an embodiment of a “natural”
humanity. Jimmy’s anger is a result of not being able to live in such humanity and his trumpet
playing is a symbol of his attempt to connect with such a culture.
Jimmy reprimands Alison for inviting her friend Helena to stay in their apartment. His outburst
towards Alison at the end of act I is extremely vicious, like many of his others. This rant makes clear
what Jimmy deems necessary in order to be truly alive. One must suffer as he did when he watched
his father die in order to understand what it truly means to live. “If you could have a child, and it
would die … if only I could watch you face that.” This is a moment of both dramatic irony and
foreshadowing. It is ironic because the audience already knows that Alison is pregnant. Jimmy’s
attack on her foreshadows the death of her child and her future hardships.
Jimmy’s anger is representative of Osborne’s critique of the feminization of society in the 1950’s
Osborne later wrote that Jimmy’s anger is a manifestation of the subliminal anger felt by a
generation of men domesticated by a feminine culture. Jimmy’s anger is Osborne’s attempt to
return genuine masculine emotion to cultural life. This is one of the reasons that Osborne’s play
received such attention and critical reception, both good and bad. Some critics argued that his
attempt was ultimately misogynistic. When the play was first released, most critics felt that it had
lacked a plot, and that its hero protested too much. However one critic, another rebel named
Kenneth Tynan was impressed with Look Back in Anger and roundly condemned the short
sightedness of his colleagues in a rave review in The Observer.
In act II Jimmy goes on a rant about Alison’s mother. “There is no limit to what the middle-aged
mummy will do in the holy crusade against ruffians like me.” He does this in order to prod and anger
Alison. Jimmy also recounts other stories about his mother-in-law, such as when she hired a private
investigator to watch him and when she was suspicious of his long hair. This part of Act II also allows
Osborne to demonstrate Jimmy’s misogynistic viewpoints, some of which it is alleged Osborne
personally shared with his character. Jimmy is particularly cruel to older, upper class women.
Alison’s mother is the epitome of such a character. Her hiring of a private investigator seems to have
been the catalyst for Jimmy’s extreme hatred of all women like her mother.
Alison’s father, Colonel Redfern is, perhaps, the play’s most sympathetic character. He is described
as a former military man, which suggests his strict rigidity in matters of emotion. “I didn’t approve of
Jimmy at all, and I don’t suppose I ever should,” It implies that the Colonel is fixed in his attitude
towards Jimmy and Alison’s relationship. His previous military life, therefore, is meant to be the
antithesis to Jimmy’s radical emotional out bursts. The character of Colonel Redfern, Alison's father,
represents the decline of and nostalgia for the British Empire. The Colonel symbolizes the softening
of the British character. Just as the Colonel is resigned and withdrawn, Osborne is suggesting that
British culture and character is resigned and withdrawn in this new American age.
by
yassii11 (student)
