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Essay / John Osborne's technique in Look Back in Anger reveals his debt to Henrik Ibsen and his contemporary Samuel Beckett in naturalistic pieces. It uses images and symbols, both verbal and non-verbal, for the sake of objectification. These symbols include not only the structure of the play and the location of the action, but also stage props, actors' postures, sounds (on stage and off stage), dialogue, character movements and beings. humans themselves. In fact, Osborne drew inspiration from his personal life and his failed marriage to Pamela Lane when writing Look Back in Anger. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Osborne's use of elaborate staging to situate his plays is a special medium. The specific mention of the hero, Jimmy Porter "wearing a very warm tweed jacket and flannels" signifies his belonging to a very specific era, notably the 1950s and to a certain social order, that of the middle class without money. His wife, Alison, wearing "Jimmy's cherry red shirt" and Helena, also wearing Jimmy's old shirt, both symbolize Jimmy's wives, a sign of his personal possessions. Ironing a pile of “erased clothes” also suggests a number of issues plaguing their lives that need to be addressed. Besides the background images depicting stagnation, washing and the cistern, the symbolic analogy of dirt and misery that must be cleaned is very interesting. This reminds us of the rotten state of Denmark in Shakespeare's Hamlet, which required the intervention of the protagonist. Alison and Helena both seem busy ironing their clothes throughout the Sunday evening. Mary McCarthy highlights the stagnant boredom of Sundays in a temporary period when newspapers and book reviews also seem to be the same. The newspaper itself assumes the symbol of Jimmy's intellect and he complains at all times that no one in his family treats him with respect except him. Jimmy Porter's anger at the previous generation is one of the most important aspects of the play and it should be noted. that this exasperation and frustration was the most common characteristic of the post-war cohort. The Edwardian social complacency that Jimmy sees as responsible for his current situation is the "Edwardian twilight" that Jimmy refers to. It represents everything that is missing from his world. Colonel Redfern, Nigel, Alison's mother and Miss Drury are all people of privilege compared to Jimmy and therefore the object of his anger. He resents these people and fulfills an instinctive antipathy for the upper class, including Alison and Helena. Likewise, he feels strong empathy for the poor and suffering like Hugh Tanner, his mother, Mrs. Tanner, and Jimmy's own father whose death is still poignant in his mind. He admires his former lover Madeline in whom he sees an example of the "enthusiasm" that Alison lacks; she is lively while the latter is almost drowsy. Alison is not only his class enemy but also his sexual antagonist. Her toilets are designed by Osborne in symbolic terms as weapons on a battlefield, almost like Belinda's toilet in The Rape of the Lock. The church exemplifies a cultural value that Jimmy hates. So, when the church bells start to ring, he expresses his horror: “I don’t want to hear them!” ". The church bell is a reminder of his failure to transform the world and bring about harmony in his personal life. He associates a radical Orthodox side of society with churches, which irritates and bores him »..
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