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Notes on Look Back in Anger by John Osborne (Comentrios de

exame)

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() as those affected by Margaret Thatchers governmentpolicies. In Look back in Anger, we see that thecharacters, mainly Jimmy and Alisons father feel a kindof abandon on the part of the government (although foropposite reasons n.), they dont trust either thepromises or the policies of the government. In JimmyPorter we feel the contradictions and the differencesbetween the upper and the middle classes. Jimmy is theonly one who feels that difference and he is thereforeangry.

During Thatchers government, the situation waspractically the same because her ideologies were hardwork, self-help, patriotism, law and order. She wasagainst the welfare state becausefor her people had to deserve what they wanted, so theyhad to struggle to reach their aims. By this time poorpeople were in someway deprived of certain privileges andsuffered the consequences of the establishment of theincome and pool taxes. There was tremendous unemployment,bad housing conditions, race riots and the gap betweenthe poorer north and the rich(er) south grew bigger.

In Look back in Anger, Jimmy lives in permanent conflictwith his wife Alison, who comes from a higher social classthan he- his origins are lower-middle class. He is awareof class differences and loves his occupation ,whichgives him the opportunity of contacting his people.

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() The social origin of the main characters portrayed inLook back in Anger is quite different: Jimmy and Clifforiginated from the working classes, Alison, Jimmys wifecame from the upper-middle class.Government policies had a great influence on the behaviourof some characters, specially on Jimmy, once the policy offree education for everyone that was implemented in hisyouth, allowed working class youths to climb up theBritish social class system.On the one hand, this was positive but on the other hand,young men like Jimmy, who came from the working class,didnt know where to fit. Jimmy ,for example, was trappedin a limbo of no social class. Despite having studied tobelong to the upper-middle class, he cant do it once he

considers that a betrayal to his origins.

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In this period (the 50s) government policies wereresponsible for a state of apathy and conformism that hadsettled in the British society, and the same policies werealso responsible for the substitution of moral values formaterialism and consumerism, which in a certain way

affected and contaminates some characters like Jimmy, whodespite criticising and abusing his society wascontaminated by its lethargy. Margaret Thatchers policieshad also made the youth suffer, since unemployment rosewhen she came to Westminster and her reluctance towardsEurope prevented Britain from a greater economicdevelopment.

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()Jimmy Porter belongs to the angry young men and hedoesnt conform(?)about his way of life. He lost trust inpoliticians who promse to help all people.

Margaret Thatcher once said: theres no such a thing associety, only individual men and women, and families. Shedefended self-help, hard work and patriotism and foughtagainst the power that trade unions had. She also defendedfree trade without any kind of interference by the state.Of course there was the welfare state that garanteed helpto those in need that were ill or unemployed. But soon the

welfare state services became a problem because even whenpeople could afford private services, they still used theofficial ones. So M. Thatcher had to cut publicexpenditures and this caused the poor to become poorer. Inthe end only the haves won and the have nots were in aworse situtionBut this wasnt the only problem. Britain had just lostits empire and therefore a part of its influence in worldaffairs and also self-confidence.

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()Jimmy Porter was a graduate from one of the newuniversities created after the war, so with littleprestige. In spite of his schooling, Jimmy ran a mobilecandy shop. He came from a lower class and mainly becauseof that he criticized his wife Alison for coming from ahigher class (her father was a former colonel in India).Jimmy hated alisons social class so much that many timeshis hatred was more powerful than his love for her andthis caused their separation. Cliff, who shared the rented

flat with the couple also came from the lower classes. Hehelped Jimmy with his candy shop.

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Thatchers government and the other before hers carriedout policies to put an end to the economic crisis againstwhich the country was struggling. It put measures ofcontrol of the expenses into action. The sector where more

cuts were made was the social one. The government stoppedsocial assistance, originating more and more socialdifference and a greater social separation.The lower classes were the ones who faced more economicand social problems and difficulties. The consumerism wasmuch lesser than before, measures were thus taken toprevent the rising of the prices of the goods what provedterrible for the owners of small companies and shops, likeJimmy and many immigrants from the former Britishcolonies.These people were marginalized by the British society,they were seen as intruders and were blamed for the socialproblems, the unemployment and the high criminality.

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After the fall of the British Empire the economy of thecountry had a great development. So its policies arecommonly known as the Welfare State. The governmentprovided money ,free medical care for people who wereunemployed or too old to work and improved education for

all social classes. Jimmy Porter, one of the maincharacters of Look Back in Anger, was raised while thesepolicies were in course. He went to university but when hefinished his degree the Welfare State policies were overbecause due to this situation there was somewhat a senseof apathy and people made no efforts to improve theirsituation, so unemployment raised and the nationalism ofseveral companies didnt work out. The cost of this kindof policy could not be supported by the new government(Margaret Thatchers).She cut down the expenses with social issues but did not

work out either and the people were discontent. Only theFalkland war gave Margaret Thatcher a re-election.

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The 50s were a decade of social changes, due to somepolicies carried out in a lot of political areas, such aseducation. The Welfare State provided people with a betterstandard of living, and the government allowed people tostudy, have a higher level of education, thus leaving theworking class and belonging to a middle or lower middle-class. But the better standard of living also provided thegrowth of materialism and consumerism. If there were some

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people who conformed with the situation, there were, onthe other hand, some who did not enjoy it, as was the casewith the so-called angry young men.In Look back in Anger there are conformist characters,such as Alison and Helena, and the non-conformist, such as

Jimmy. He is revolted with his situation ()

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Margaret Thatchers government believed in the principlesof labour philosophy that people were able to becomewhatever they wanted, they believed in self-confidence,self-determination and self-assurance. Thatcher did notagree with the social policies that had been followed fordecades, the welfare state had to provide for the healthand welfare services and help people in case of poverty,unemployment, old age or sickness. Actually, Thatchersupported that the Welfare State made peopleirresponsible, careless and lazy about their own lives.Thatcher had promised to stop Britains decline but shedid not succeed. The industrial production had fallen by10%, the manufacturing production had fallen by 17% andunemployment had risen. However, the most seriousaccusation against her was that she was creating a moreunequal society, a society of two nations, the richsouth and the poor north. John Osborne characterized that

unequal society in the characters of Look Back inAnger. Jimmy Porter comes from the working classes butAlison comes from a higher class. Despite his humbleorigins, he went to university but ends up selling candyin a sweet-stall.There is a relationship between M. Thatchers governmentand the play, the past represents greatness and stablevalues and the present represents futility and loss ofvalues, a time where there are no more brave causes left.()