A Close Reading of Jimmy Porter as a Frustrated Angry Young Man in John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger

Jimmy Porter, as an angry young man, is the protagonist of Look Back in Anger. He shows his frustrations and wrath towards others, especially his wife Alison. He employed a stream of tirades to describe the lives of working class people. This paper, through the presentation of some frustrated examples of Jimmy in the text, tries to provide a better understanding of the main character’s anger and frustration in John Osborn’s Look Back in Anger. An aspirational and educated generation of post- second world war working class is described by the angry young man movement. Jimmy Porter is outraged by the social and political structures of the society that he believes they have prevented him from fulfilling his ambitions. Look Back in Anger depicts the isolation of the Post-war British Society’s first generation from concepts such as society, religion, and personal history. Jimmy puts the blame on his wife as well as Cliff that his witty talks are ignored by them and he continues to insult Alison by humiliating both her and her brother Nigel. Loss of childhood innocence has been felt by a generation of British youth and Jimmy felt it by nursing a dying father in his childhood.

Keywords:

Jimmy Porter , Look Back in Anger , John Osborne , Frustration , Working class , Post World War British society , Loss of Childhood Innocence