An Appraisal of the Behaviour of the Characters in Look Back in Anger

Abstract

The characters in ‘Look Back in Anger’ are either the generation of post World War II when Britain had lost her power and glory and was relying for economic recovery on USA or the previous era. Along with the futile win of 1945 Britain decreased its identity as an imperial power. This era was named as the era of ‘angry young man’. The generation of this era is reflecting disillusionment, rebelliousness and uncertainty. The characters in the play are representing the generation of this era and the previous era. Current generation characters are confused and frustrated as they had the impact of two major revolutions like democracy and technology. However, colonel Redfern, the representative of the previous generation was living in the past glory of England. The transitory period, cultural differences, and class identities are reflected from the behaviour and the utterances of the characters which makes Osborn’s ‘Look Back in Anger’ a unique play in the history of drama in England.