Socio-psychological Dimensions of Major Characters in Three of John Osborne’s Plays By: Amal Mohamed Osman El Mahdi B.A (Honours) in English Language Faculty of Education-Hantoub University of Gezira(2008) A Dissertation Submitted to the University of Gezira in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Arts in English Language Teaching (ELT) Department of English Faculty of Education - Hantoub University of Gezira October - 2013 1 Socio-psychological Dimensions Of Major Characters in Three of Osborne’s Plays By Amal Mohamed Osman El Mahdi Supervision Committee: Name Position Signature Dr. Lubab El Tayeb El Mikashfi Main-Supervisor …………..…. Dr. Awatif El Amin Satti Co-Supervisor ..…………….. Date of Examination: 8 /10/2013 2 Socio-psychological Dimensions Of Major Characters in Three of Osborne’s Plays By Amal Mohamed Osman El Mahdi Examination Committee: Name Position Signature Dr. Lubab El Tayeb El Mikashfi Chairperson …………….. Dr. Salwa ELTayeb Bakeet External Examiner …………….. Dr. Zahir Abu Obieda Ahmed Internal Examiner ……………… Date of Examination : 8 /10/2013 3 Dedication I dedicate this study To Dr. Lubab El Tayeb El Mikashfi . To my caring husband To my sons and my lovely daughter for her continuous help and support. To my loving parents and my sisters and to my friends. To all my teachers in the English Department Faculty of Education – Hantoub. 4 Acknowledgements All praise and thanks are due to Almighty Allah, for all His gifts. I am deeply indebted and faithful to my main supervisor Dr. Lubab El Tayeb El Mikashfi for her continuous help and support and her endless patience and encouragement. My dainty thanks are to Dr. Awatif El Amin Satti for her useful advice and valuable suggestions and information that help me during writing this study. Many thanks are due to Dr. Zahir Abu Obida who inspired me the idea of this research. I wish to express my sincere thanks to the staff of the English Department and the library staff in the Faculty of Education-Huntoub. 5 Socio-psychological Dimensions of Major Characters in Three of John Osborne’s Plays Amal Mohamed Osman El Mahadi Abstract Literary characterization through plays is an interesting way of writing that adds more depth and insight into literary genres. This study aimed at investigating critically Osborne’s use of socio-psychological dimensions in his literary work by analyzing three of his plays, namely, (Look Back in Anger, The Entertainer and Inadmissible Evidence). The main objectives of the study were to analyse the major characters in the three plays mentioned above by applying socio-psychological method and to and to explore the author’s socio-psychological background which was reflected in them. The researcher also aimed at drawing more attention to the areas of sociology and psychology in literature. The study followed the critical analytical method. The main findings of the study are as follows: The social and psychological dimensions of Osborne’s own life in the above stated three plays of this study deepen the knowledge of readers and audience. Osborne’s manages to mix between British social and psychological before and after world war II. The social and psychological dimensions of Osborne’s own life in the plays help to furnish a comprehensive deep social reading of British life after world war II. The study recommends the following: readers and audience of Osborne’s plays must be well-acquainted with the main characteristics of sociology and psychology in literature, department of Foreign Languages both at secondary and university levels should encourage students to read and research in British literature in all its genres, and, more British novelists, poets, playwrights, essayists and their social and psychological works should be embedded in the courses of faculties of Arts and Education for students who study English instead of depending on two or three British literary writers to enlarge the students’ not only their social and psychological background in the field of literature but also to enrich them thoroughly in all its aspects. 6 اﻷبعاد اﻹجتماعية والنفسية لدى الشخصيات الرئيسة يف ثﻻث من مسرحيات جون أوسبورن آمال حممد عثمان املهدي ملخص الدراسة إن تحليل الشخصيات المسرحية أسلوب مشوق يضفي مزيداً من العمق للكتابات اﻷدبية. فكرة هذه االدرسة هي محاولة لالدرسة النقدية التحليلية للشخصيات الرئيسة في ثﻻث من مسرحيات جون اوسبورن. إعتمدت هذه االدرسة بشكل أساسي على اﻵبعاد اﻹجتماعية والنفسية للشخصيات اﻷساسية في مسرحيات جون أوسبورن الرئيسة. هدفت االدرسة إلى معرفة كيفية إستخدام جون أوسبورن لﻵبعاد اﻹجتماعية والنفسية في تشكيل شخصياته عن طريق التحليل النقدي لثﻻث من مسرحياته وهي " النظر إلى الماضي بغضب " و "المغني" و " الدليل غير المقبول" . كما هدفت هذه االدرسة إلى التحليل النقدي للشخصيات الرئيسة في ثﻻث من مسرحيات أوسبورن آنفة الذكر من خﻻل إستخدام المنهج التحليلي النقدي، كما تركز أيضاً على الخلفية اﻹجتماعية والنفسية للكاتب نفسه والتي قام بعكسها في مسرحياته الثﻻث. كما هدفت هذه الد ارسة إلى إعطاء مزيداً من اﻹهتمام إلى كيفية إستخدام اﻷبعاد اﻹجتماعية و النفسية في كتابات جون اوسبورن. وقد إتبع الباحث في تحليل هذه المسرحيات المنهج التحليلي النقدي. توصلت االدرسة إلى النتائج اﻵتية: قام الكاتب بعكس اﻷبعاد المتعلقة بالخلفية اﻹجتماعية والنفسية لحياته في مسرحياته الثﻻث مما مهد للفهم العميق والتعرف على نوع الحياة في بريطانيا بعد الحرب العالمية الثانية ، كما أن اﻷبعاد اﻹجتماعية والنفسية لحياة الكاتب ساعدت على تعميق معرفة االقرء والمشاهدين بالمجتمع البريطاني خﻻل تلك الفترة. قام الكاتب بتناول اﻷبعاد اﻹجتماعية والنفسية للمجتمع البريطاني قبل وبعد الحرب العالمية الثانية وآثر هذه الحرب على النسيج اﻹجتماعي والنفسي في بريطانيا. توصى هذه االدرسة باﻵتي: يجب علىاقرء ومشاهدي مسرحيات جون أوسبورن اﻹلمام الجيد بالخصائص اﻷساسية لعلم اﻹجتماع وعلم النفس في االدرسات اﻷدبية. على أقسام اللغة اﻹنجليزية على المستويين الثانوي والجامعي تشجيع الطﻻب لالقرءة والبحث في شتى ضروب اﻷدب اﻹنجليزي. هذا بجانب إدخال مزيداً من ال ُكتاب الروائيين والشع ارء وُكتاب المقاﻻت اﻷدبية في مقر ارت طﻻب كليات التربية واﻵداب قسم اللغة اﻹنجليزية. وتوصي االدرسة أيضاً بإضافة مزيداً من ال ُكتاب واﻷدباء وأعمالهم االدرمية وتحليلها في نطاق السمات اﻹجتماعية والنفسية بدﻻً عن اﻹعتماد على إثنان أو ثﻻثه من اﻷدباء وال ُكتاب اﻹنجليز. 7 Table of Contents Subjects Page Dedication iii Acknowledgments iv Abstract (English) v Abstract (Arabic) vi Table of contents vii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.0 Introduction 1 1.1 Statement of the problem 1 1.2 Objectives of the study 1 1.3 Questions of the study 2 1.4 Hypotheses of the study 2 1.5 Significance of the study 3 1.6 Methodology of the study 3 1.7 Limits of the study 3 CHAPTER TWO BACKGROUND 2.0 Background 4 2.1 Osborne’s Works 8 2.2 Angry Young Men 10 2.3 Concept of Drama 10 2.4 Elements of a Play 11 2.4.1 Characters 12 2.4.1.1 Types of characters in Literature 12 A\ Protagonist character 13 B\ Antagonist character 13 C\ Foil character 13 D\ Stereotype or stock character 13 8 E\ Leading man and leading lady 14 F\ Chorus 14 2.4.3 Plot 15 2.4.3.1 Open conflict plays 15 2.4.3.2 Dramatic thesis 15 2.4.3.3 Coincidence 15 2.4.3.4 Dramatic irony 15 2.4.4 Themes 15 2.5 Definition of Psychology 16 2.5.1 Early Psychology 17 2.5.2 Psychology Today 17 2.6 Identifying Sociology 18 2.7 History of Socio-Psychological Writing in Literature 20 2.8 The Early Process of Discovery in the Filed of Psychology 21 2.9 Trends of Socio-Psycho in Literature 22 2.9.1 The Anthropological Trend 22 2.9.2 The Archetypal Trend 22 2.9.3 The Biographical Trend 23 2.10 Previous Studies 23 CHAPTER THREE ANALYSIS of OSBORNE’S MAIN CHARACTERS AND DISCUSSION OF PLOTS AND THEMES 3.0 Introduction 25 3.1 Plot of Look Back in Anger 27 3.2 Analysis of the Main Characters in the Play Look Back in Anger 28 3.2.1 Jimmy Porter and His Wife Alison 28 3.2.2 Helena and Cliff 29 A\ Colonel Redfern 32 B\ Mrs. Tanner 32 3.3 Themes of Look Back in Anger 33 3.4 Plot of The Entertainer 34 3.5 Analysis of the Main Characters in the Play the Entertainer 38 3.5.1 Billy Rice and Archie Rice 38 3.5.2 Phoebe and Jean 39 3.6 Themes of The Entertainer 40 3.7 Plot of Inadmissible Evidence 40 9 3.8 Analysis of the Main Characters in the Play Inadmissible Evidence 43 3.8.1 Bill Maitland and Hudson 43 3.8.2 Jones and Shirley 43 3.9 Themes of Inadmissible Evidence 44 3.10 Summary of the Chapter 44 CHAPTER FOUR SOCIAL AND PSYCOLOGICAL DIMENSIONS IN OSBORNE’S PLAYS LOOK BACK IN ANGER, THE ENTERTAINER AND INADMISSIBLE EVIDENCE 4.0 Introduction 47 4.1 Social Dimensions in the Three Plays of the Study 47 4.2 Psychological Dimensions in the Three Plays 55 4.3Discussion of Results in Relation to the Questions and 61 Hypotheses of the Study 4.3.1 Hypothesis One 61 4.3.2 Hypothesis Two 61 4.3.3 Hypothesis Three 62 4.3.4 Hypothesis Four 62 CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSION, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.0 Conclusion 63 5.1 Findings 63 5.2 Recommendations 64 References 66 Website 68 10 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.0 Introduction The researcher has a great interest in literature, because literature is like a mirror which reflects the life and period of its people, their customs, values and beliefs. In fact, literal characterization represents one of the elements that appeals to the researcher. The researcher has also chosen this topic as a result of interest in sociology and psychology and their great influence on human beings.