© 2020 IJRAR February 2020, Volume 7, Issue 1 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) Psychological insight in Look Back in Anger Dr. Swati Tande Assist. Professor, Department of English, P.N. College, Nanded

Abstract: This research paper intends to study Look Back in Anger as a problem play. The paper deals with the aspects of social conflicts consequent upon individual conflicts. Sense of loss in modern generation is the key concept of the play. The sense of loss leads to depression in modern people is reflected through the paper. The plot of Look Back in Anger moves from love, jealousy, misunderstanding, hatred, and reconciliation. Osborne had dramatized communal questions in order to arouse social conscience. The play presents the frustrated outbursts of Jimmy, the angry young man. He frenzied with resentment against conservative class system. Instead of facing the problems, the protagonist just grumbles for the people and situation in which he his living. Dealing with psyche of modern world, Osborne presented degeneration of generation. Key Words: psychological, rationale, reciprocal, obligation, alienation, reconciliation, compatibility. John Osborne was a born playwright. In his creative world dramatic expression comes with a perfect naturalness and ease. He remained defiantly a popular dramatist who was capable of speaking to a mass public. His play has a sense of social complexity. His major plays, particularly problem plays have never ceased to be the ‘lessons in feeling’. The depiction of the middle age group by Osborne is true to fact. Through his plays, Osborne had opened up a much wider subject than rebelliousness or youthful anger, that of social alienation. The social alienation is the feeling of being trapped in a world of meaningless codes and customers. In his plays, through characters he depicted modern man’s personality and mentality of modern generation. He portrayed youth which is disconcerting mixture of sincerity and cheerful malice, of tenderness and freebooting cruelty. Look Back in Anger is one of his remarkable plays that reveal the psyche of post world war generation. It is considered as his landmark play. It was written in 1956. It is Osborne’s first major work. In 1956, the scope for new talent was greater. It is written in response to the call for new play by The English Stage Company’s an advertisement. The play, Look Back in Anger was liked by the same company. They gave Osborne the face of their new playwright. The play initiated a new era in British theatre. With the publication of this play, Osborne is linked with the ‘Angry Young Men’ Group. Look Back in Anger is a well-made problem play of a considerable psychological insight. The plot of Look Back in Anger moves on emotional track from love, jealousy, misunderstanding, hatred, and reconciliation. The psychological aspects are used to socialize the play. In the drama social problems are mirrored with emotional tendency. The reflection of some of the communal troubles depicts the mentality of the people. Osborne showed reciprocal relation of people’s mentality and society. The mental problems affect the society very badly. In the same way, struggling for life, and facing the social problems peoples are losing their courage. Because of mental stress, they are easily demoralized. Portraying the post world war human with mental or psychological and social problems, Osborne gives various moral messages. Osborne had dramatized communal questions in order to arouse social conscience. The play presents the frustrated outbursts of Jimmy, the angry young man. He frenzied with resentment against conservative class system. He replicates his new circumstances and surroundings in which he is facing mental and social problems. Instead of facing the problems, the protagonist just grumbles for the people and situation in which he his living. The social conscience diminishes with the sense of loss of obligation. Although he married with Alison for having a sincere affection but he never takes her responsibility as a husband. Jimmy’s sense of loss of obligation gives message that the generation after world war is becoming irresponsible. It does not want to take the responsibility of one’s relations and society, too. Sense of loss of emotion is the reason for indifferent attitude of new generation towards the society. Through Jimmy’s anger, Osborne pointed out a degeneration of feeling and language. It is noticed, most of the times in the play Jimmy denunciates Alison and Cliff for their being devoid of emotions. While criticizing Alison and Cliff for their coldness Jimmy ignores that he too, is emotionless. Once he said that Alison should have misery of loss of child. Only an emotionless husband can wish so, for one’s wife. His impassiveness makes him impotent. As he is devoid of emotions, he is without any ambition. It is because he is IJRAR2001194 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) www.ijrar.org 456

© 2020 IJRAR February 2020, Volume 7, Issue 1 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) unable to advance in personal as well as social life. This sense of loss of ability alienated him from the society. Jimmy’s inability gives moral to reader that sense of loss of emotion leads to have the loss of ambition that ultimately leads to sense of loss of ability. Loss of emotion means devoid of ambition and purpose. Being devoid of rationale, one’s ability degenerates and the spirit gets rotten with the flow of time. Such spiritless persons instead of correcting one’s faults, they just grumble about everything. The protagonist’s famous complaint in Look Back in Anger is- There aren’t any good, brave causes left. It the big bang does come, and we all get killed off, it won’t be in aid of the old-fashioned grand design. It’ll just be for the Brave New- nothing – very-much-thank you.

He often states that there are no ‘good, brave causes left’ in the world. In fact he daily rails against dozens of enemies the advertisers, the church, politicians, aristocrats, cinema audiences, and others. There are too many causes worth fighting for, and their sheer magnitude renders Jimmy impotent. The problem is a need to realize it. His irreverence and castigating wit are all an imposture, an attempt to shield himself from his failure to take meaningful action. Not only Jimmy but also his father in law, Colonel Redfern also resents for present and repents for by gone days. Jimmy seems almost envious of those he criticizes. The man for whom he professes the greatest resentment Colonel Redfern had a golden age, whereas Jimmy agitates in vacuum. With Jimmy’s tirades, Osborne points out how the sense of loss of potency makes oneself envious. John Elsom also observes perplexity in Jimmy. To quote him- Jimmy was not just the critic of his society; he was also the object for criticism. He was the chief example of the social malaise, which he was attacking. Through Jimmy Porter, Osborne had opened up a much wider subject than rebelliousness or youthful anger, that of social alienation, the feeling of being trapped in a world of meaningless codes and customs.

John Elsom also observes ambivalence in Jimmy. He is a confusing combination of sincerity and cheerful malice, of tenderness and freebooting cruelty. Osborne presents a small group of post world war young people who are existing in a sorry state of emotional and physical squalor. He gives a close-up to the marital relationship between immensely resentful graduate of working-class origin and the passively submissive young woman. The portrayal of Jimmy is to depict the changing moods of present generation. Jimmy’s love-hate emotion is one of the reasons of his failure of marriage. Osborne gives moral message that loss of emotion, endurance, and compatibility leads to loss of relations. A marriage could not be survived unless it has emotion, honesty, endurance and the most important compatibility. The poor state of the country is also mirrored in the troubled relationship between the characters. Michael Billington, a journalist of The Guardian, expressed this idea excellently_ It’s premiere at the Royal court in May 1956 not only put the English Stage Company on the map, but proved to a generation of contemporary writers that it was possible to put contemporary Britain on Stage.

Above words of Michael Billington appreciate Osborne for Putting the real Britain on the stage by presenting the problems, suffering and agony of post-world war human. Expression of various sense of loss, in Look Back in Anger formed moral order. Osborne warns against the impending doom on the present generation, which lost its direction with sense of loss. The play is a moral exploration in precisely this field. It functions as a replica of England, and its generation that lost its direction in the anarchy after

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© 2020 IJRAR February 2020, Volume 7, Issue 1 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) world war. It seems one consistent feature in Osborne’s English plays is the view that contemporary society is suffering from degeneration of feeling and language. It displays how the hero’s isolation becomes increasingly an impatient and wholesale rejection of modern times. In short, observing the post world war world and dealing with psyche of that world, Osborne presented degeneration of generation. In Look Back in Anger, he gave voice to the individual as well as social problems. Jimmy’s bad manners, rejection of middle – class mores was seen as the clarion of a neglected generation. Because of these sociological remarks of Jimmy, Look Back in Anger was regarded as a harbinger of the New Left and of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

REFERENCE

1. Contemporary or Literary Criticism Vol 1 Daniel G. Marowski, Roger Matuz. edit, Contemporary Literary Criticism, (U.S.A : Gale Research Company) 2. Osborne John. Look Back in Anger,(Washington: Dramatic Publishing Company, 1959) 3. Taylor John. The Angry Theatre, (New York: Hill and Wang , 1969) 4. Lal Ramji, Look Back in Anger, (New Delhi : Rama Brothers,1997) 5. Alan Carter. John Osborne, Edinburgh, Oliver and Boyd, 1969 6. Elson John, “Breaking Out : The Angry Plays”, Post War British Theatre (London : Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1976)

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