Jimmy Porter from “Look Back in Anger” is a complex character. He is known for his anger and frustration towards the social and political establishment of his time. Jimmy’s sharp wit and intellectualism make him a captivating character, but his bitterness and tendency to lash out at those around him can also make him difficult to sympathize with. Despite his flaws, Jimmy’s passionate pursuit of truth and his refusal to conform to societal norms make him a compelling and thought-provoking character.
The character of Jimmy Porter belongs to the generation who have been deprived of their great past, with dull and ambiguous present and going to face an aimless coming time. Hence, an aloof, without aim and goals, without purpose, confused and hopeless generation was produced. Identity crisis was the main issue of the time. This frustration and boredom made Porter an “angry young man”. Throughout the play Jimmy Porter constantly shows his anger against society, class and sex conflicts and even his hatred for religion. Before leaving Porter, Alison shows her desire to go to church with Helena .Jimmy asks her, “where you are going” when he comes to know that she is going to church Porter says, “You are doing what”? Have you gone out of your mind or something”? We find him continuously making complaints against the corruption, injustice and irregularity of the society. He says that there are “no beliefs, no convictions and no enthusiasm”. We find him in anger constantly abusing and cursing society and system and even his near ones but he proves mere “a wolver stone Hamlet” unable to make any action.
He is unable to lessen the agonies of his or the people of his class and fails to convey his idealism to others. He belongs to a working class have “University Education” but have to work at a shop of sweet. This helplessness makes him angry because he thinks it is only because of this trauma that he belongs to a middle class so that society is making and fixing the choices of his aims values and goals of life. He was facing many questions which remain unsolved and the main question was of his existence and identity. He is longing for the company of anyone to whom he can express his ideas and feelings regarding society, religion causing frustration, disillusionment and nihilism in him.
In his search for identity and existence he has only sufferings and pains. Jimmy hates the upper class in spite of it that his mother and his wife’s relatives are “Pretty Posh”. Jimmy Porter blames class and status system of society for making his existence and identity meaningless. He likes Cliff only because he (Cliff) calls himself a “common man”. He says to Nigel, the brother of Alison, “You are never heard so many well-bred common places coming from beneath the same bowler hat” Helena says about Jimmy Porter. “I feel he thinks he’s still in the middle of the French revolution and that is where he ought to be, of course” She adds; “he does not know where he is or where he’s going. He will never do anything and he’ll never amount to anything”. He was frustrated because he was born out of his time, in a complete static and hostile unjust society.
He fails to find a way or someone to express his feelings of despair. He was so absorbed in his past that he fails to feel and has his existence and identity in the present life. He was ten years old when his father died .The death of his father greatly influenced his personality. He says to Alison when he was not aware that she was pregnant. “If only something… something would happen to you out of your beauty sleep! If you could have a child, and it would die”.
His hatred for upper class is shown when he says about Mrs. Red Fern as “an over freed, over privileged, old Bitch”. Alison said to his father, “You are hurt because everything is changed, Jimmy is hurt because everything is the same”. And “something’s gone wrong somewhere” Hasn’t it? He is always demanding for his existence, dignity and identity. He said; “Let’s pretend that we’re human beings and that we’re actually alive”.
He is like a person running to have his ways out of a circle. He hates his society without any hope or cause when Alison comes back to him he says “I may be a lost cause, but I thought if you loved me, it need not matter”. Jimmy’s struggle for identity increased his sense of insecurity. We find him facing conflict of classes and sexes. Two out of four main characters Cliff and Jimmy belong to working class while Alison and Helena belong to upper class. This created social as well as sexual conflict resulted in identity crisis of Jimmy Porter. He showed his hatred by saying about his wife Alison, her mother and Hehena that, “They represent predatory, selfish, ignorant and insensitive society”. Jimmy Porter feels unmanly because of the upper status of Alison and he also fails to arise warm sexual feeling in his wife. The absence of father figure is another cause of insecurity and identity crisis for Jimmy. He bursts into “stream of consciousness”.
Critical Note on Angry Young Man Movement – https://getsetnotes.com/critical-note-on-angry-young-man-movement/
