Summary Look back at the anger of John Osborne
John Osborn
Look back in anger
Action of the play takes place in a one-room apartment of Jimmy and Alison Porter in Birmingham, in one of the major cities of Middle England on Sunday evening. Jimmy and his friend Cliff, who lives in a neighboring apartment, sit in armchairs and read newspapers. Jimmy, a young man of about twenty-five, is an irritating mixture of sincerity and mocking anger, gentleness and unabashed cruelty. He is impatient, intrusive and self-centered – a combination that can alienate anyone. His bright temperament helps him almost always to have the last word.
Cliff, some years old with Jimmy, is calm and slow to apathy. On his sad face lies the seal of the natural mind – the self-taught heritage. If Jimmy pushes people away from him, then Cliff can not help but arouse sympathy or even an outward appearance even among cautious people. He is Jimmy’s inevitable pacifying contrast.
Alison, Jimmy’s wife, stands by the ironing
The room is quiet. Suddenly, Jimmy throws the newspaper on the floor, begins to pester Cliff and try to get Alison out of herself with rude attacks toward her father, mother and brother. Alison pretends that he does not react. She notices that the new Cliff trousers are wrinkled, and asks to be patted. Attacks Jimmy followed one after another. In the end, he arranges a fight with Cliff, and during the fight deliberately pushes him onto the ironing board. Board overturns, Cliff and Alison fall with her. Alison screams in pain: she burned herself with an iron. Cliff makes Jimmy sign to leave, and he tries to calm Alison. It is felt that she is at the limit and barely restrains tears.
In the conversation, she confesses to Cliff that she is pregnant, but Jimmy has not said and does not want to speak, fearing that he will begin to suspect her of any intrigues, because
Some time later, Elena comes. She is the same age as Alison, dressed dearly and with taste. When the dry and wary expression of her face softens, she becomes very attractive. It gives rise to the consciousness of female superiority, so that not only men, but even women of her age, like Alison, pay a tribute of respect and admiration to her person. In Jimmy, as expected, she excites all the dark instincts, all the evil inclinations of his nature. However, Elena is not used to defending herself from ridicule, and feels directly the duty to hold confidently and with dignity, which forces her to be in constant tension, and this is already annoying. At the request of Alison, she lingered with them after the departure of the troupe for another week.
One evening, two weeks after Elena’s arrival, she and Alison have a serious conversation about the reasons that prompted the girlfriend four years ago to marry Jimmy, and about her current life with him. When Alison first saw Jimmy from someone at a party, she was twenty years old. She just returned with her parents from India, where her father, a colonel, served for several decades. Here, in England, at first everything seemed to be somehow unsettled. Jimmy came to visit her friends on a bicycle, his whole jacket was sprinkled with engine oil. Soon, despite the fact that in society, men met him incredulously, and women generally tried to show contempt for such a strange creature, she began to meet with him. At her house there were constant cries of horror and bewilderment about this. Her mother was particularly indignant, but this only accelerated everything. It is not so important whether he loves her or not. Jimmy decided to marry her at any price to challenge her environment. After the wedding they lived together with Jimmy’s school friend, Hugh. By temperament and outlook on life, both were very close to each other. Relations with Hugh from Alison did not work out because of his scandalous nature, and after a while it occurred to him to go abroad – to China. He called with himself and Jimmy, he, however, refused. There was a terrible scandal. Hugh left, leaving his mother in England to the mercy of fate. Alison sometimes thinks that in the heart of Jimmy’s departure Hugh blames it, although he never talks about it. Sometimes she even wanted them both to leave and finally leave her alone. After the wedding they lived together with Jimmy’s school friend, Hugh. By temperament and outlook on life, both were very close to each other. Relations with Hugh from Alison did not work out because of his scandalous nature, and after a while it occurred to him to go abroad – to China. He called with himself and Jimmy, he, however, refused. There was a terrible scandal. Hugh left, leaving his mother in England to the mercy of fate. Alison sometimes thinks that in the heart of Jimmy’s departure Hugh blames it, although he never talks about it. Sometimes she even wanted them both to leave and finally leave her alone. After the wedding they lived together with Jimmy’s school friend, Hugh. By temperament and outlook on life, both were very close to each other. Relations with Hugh from Alison did not work out because of his scandalous nature, and after a while it occurred to him to go abroad – to China. He called with himself and Jimmy, he, however, refused. There was a terrible scandal. Hugh left, leaving his mother in England to the mercy of fate. Alison sometimes thinks that in the heart of Jimmy’s departure Hugh blames it, although he never talks about it. Sometimes she even wanted them both to leave and finally leave her alone. He called with himself and Jimmy, he, however, refused. There was a terrible scandal. Hugh left, leaving his mother in England to the mercy of fate. Alison sometimes thinks that in the heart of Jimmy’s departure Hugh blames it, although he never talks about it. Sometimes she even wanted them both to leave and finally leave her alone. He called with himself and Jimmy, he, however, refused. There was a terrible scandal. Hugh left, leaving his mother in England to the mercy of fate. Alison sometimes thinks that in the heart of Jimmy’s departure Hugh blames it, although he never talks about it. Sometimes she even wanted them both to leave and finally leave her alone.
Elena convinces her friend to decide what she will do next, because she will have a child, and first leads her to a church where Alison has not been since she married.
Over dinner, Jimmy, as usual, trying to bring his wife and Elena to white heat, but much success in this does not reach. Then, wanting to show how much he had to suffer in life and how vulnerable he is, he is told how he watched the whole year of the slow death of his father, who returned from the Spanish war. After that, he calls his wife Judah and the sham. Alison throws the cup on the floor. He finally got his way.
Elena tells her friend that she sent a telegram to her father with a request to pick up Alison from this house. She agrees to go to her parents. It is assumed that Elena will leave with her. The next day, while Jimmy is away, Alison, having collected all his things, leaves with the father who has come for her. Elena is still supposedly for one day on the pretext that urgent matters have come to her in Birmingham.
Jimmy soon arrives, to whom she informs about his wife’s departure and her pregnancy. He pretends that he does not give a shit about it, offends her and achieves the fact that he gets a slap from Elena. An expression of horror and astonishment appears on his face. Elena takes her hand away from his face, suddenly kisses him and draws him to her.
A few months later, when Elena was already firmly entrenched in Jimmy’s room, she, just like Alison before her, stroked Jimmy’s shirts Sunday night. On the attacks of Jimmy, she reacts quite differently from Alison: then with laughter, and then with amazement. Buddies, out of habit, arrange a fuss on the floor, during which Jimmy accidentally tears and spoils Cliff with his only clean shirt. Cliff reluctantly gives it to Elena, who suggests bringing the shirt in order. While she is not in the room, he tells Jimmy that he is going to move away from them, because Elena, they say, is difficult to look after them both. Elena gives him a shirt, and Cliff goes to her room.
Soon, Alison appears in the doorway. She recently lost her baby and was not quite recovered yet. She talks with Elena about Jimmy, about what, in her opinion, he was not at the time born. He’s one of those who are called “outstanding Victorians,” and that’s why he’s ridiculous, but she loves him. Elena admits that everything is over between her and Jimmy. She can not build her happiness on the misfortune of another, and then, they are too different with him. She leaves, and Alison stays with her husband. Seeing how much she suffered, Jimmy softens. They make up their minds, with sadness and with secret tenderness, they make plans for the future.
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