Poetcrit
Current Volume: 37 (2024 )
ISSN: 0970-2830
Periodicity: Half-Yearly
Month(s) of Publication: January & July
Subject: Language & Literature
DOI: https://doi.org/10.32381/POET
Online Access is Free for all Life Members of Poetcrit
Identity Crisis of Jimmy Porter … Look Back in Anger
By : Twishampati De
Page No: 31-41
Abstract
Post war Literature comprises many British writers. Among them, John Osborne is expert in portraying the identity crisis of Jimmy Porter in his realistic play Look Back in Anger (1956). According to Modern Dictionary, identity crisis is a personal psychological conflict particularly in adolescence implying confusion about one’s social rule and often a sense of loss of continuity to one’s personality. This identity crisis is analyzed with general perspectives of psychoanalysis by Erikson to discover the enigmas found in one’s personality. Jimmy Porter, the protagonist of faces the identity crisis in the play. In each and every part of this play, we consider him as an angry young man whose anger is the outcome of his frustration and identity crisis. Identity crisis denotes a feeling of unhappiness and confusion. Jimmy is dissatisfied with his life and society. The story of the play expresses his anger against people and things in his ambiance. At the initial part of the play, we find three characters- Jimmy, Alison, wife of Jimmy and Cliff, bosom friend of Jimmy. Jimmy and Cliff come from a working class family while Alison comes from an upper middle class family. The difference of social status between Jimmy and Alison is the real cause of Jimmy’s dissatisfaction. His rude attitude portrays him as a rebel of society. His character depicts his outrages and estrangement for the upper class of society. All over the play, we find him fighting against the sense of estrangement and identity crisis.
Author :
Twishampati De
Research Scholar, Ranchi University, Ranchi.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.32381/POET.2022.35.02.5