The play Look Back in Anger deals with many socio-political and economic issues of the Post-War era. Osborne depicts the conditions of the society where the society has become fragmented due to the effects of World Wars and Britain was in a position of recovering from its severe effects. These effects are captured in the play and it becomes important to note the condition of the society after the Great Depression of 1939. The depression led to the severe economic crisis and Britain was recovering from the economic losses.
The first element of the Post-War in the play is the impact of the Great Depression of 1939. This impact resulted in the economic recession in the Great Britain. Many people were left unemployed and the country as a whole was recovering from the recession. In the play, Jimmy Porter was an educated person but cannot find a job suitable for his position that meets his qualification. He runs a sweet stall with his friend Cliff Lewis. Jimmy’s inability to find a good job in the play is a reflection of the economic losses Britain had to endure that severely led to the high unemployment rate in the society. It seems that many of the people with high qualifications earned money and livelihood by working in a small jobs.
The other element of Post-War in the play is the corruption. Corruption also became very much high in Britain after the Post-War. Jimmy Porter becomes angry at Alison’s Brother Nigel who was going to be a politician and Jimmy believes he was vague enough to be a politician. Critically, Jimmy means to suggest that he is a highly educated person yet works in a sweet stall but Alison’s brother is going to be a politician and he subtly throws that Nigel may have become a politician because of his status or money.
However, the Post-War element in the play also throws light into the transitional phases from the past to the present. Colonel Redfern seems to have a good life in the past and the service he did in India. He is conflicted with the present because the present have become meaningless and there are no more stability within the family atmosphere and the society itself. Colonel Redfern reminiscences his life in India and believed that it was the best time he had lived in India. According to Jimmy, the past is no less than the present because the past seems to be dreadful like the present. Jimmy dislikes the presence of Alison since he remembers the negativity from the past and the negativity of the past still haunts Jimmy in the present.
Moreover, the impact of World Wars became more prominent in the society where the society was battling with trust and individual faith. These two World Wars broke apart the human faith in the world. Osborne subtly depicts the issues of faith and shows the condition of the present society which has subtracted faith from their life. It is clearly seen in the statement of Jimmy where he states that religion is like a bodybuilder made for weak person. He scolds Helena for having faith in religion and criticizes the church . It is through the lens of Jimmy one can observe the diminishing faith in religion after the World War.
Lastly, the play gives an implication towards the instability of the society after the World Wars. In the words of Helena, it becomes clearer that Jimmy is born in the wrong time and he should have been born during the time of Victorian era where things were progressing and dynamic as compared to the present where the newspapers seems to be boring and mundane. Helena tells that he should have been born during the times of the French Revolution where people overthrew the monarch and found liberty. Similarly, Jimmy would have found freedom from the haunts of the injustices over his status. Since the French revolution gave birth to equality, he would have been equal in terms of job and status like others and the implications suggest that the present is conform to social and political injustice which made Jimmy an angry man.
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