| John Osborne（1929-1994）,the distinguished British dramatist in the 1950s and the outstanding leader of the“Angry Young Men”literary school,has made a great contribution to the development of post-war British drama.Osborne’s works mainly focus on social issues,revealing his sympathy and concern for the working class.On 8thMay 1956,the premiere of Osborne’s play Look Back in Anger in the Royal Court Theatre in London immediately caused enormous sensation,not only making Osborne become a celebrity in the British drama circle,but also symbolizing the revolution of theatrical art and the milestone of modern British drama.This thesis,adopting the ethical literary criticism put forward by Professor Nie Zhenzhao,focuses on the arising of the protagonist Jimmy’s“anger”,its outbreak and its final waning in Look Back in Anger and analyzes the ethical elements contained within it.It aims to disclose the post-war British social reality and dig into the ethical connotations of the play,so as to give people ethical enlightenment.First,the thesis excavates the causes of Jimmy’s anger.It returns to the ethical locale of Look Back in Anger,exploring the external factors,i.e.,the social ethical environment in Britain in the 1950s and the ethical environment in Jimmy’s family,and exploring the internal factors,i.e.,the interplay of Jimmy’s human factor and his animal factor.Then,it analyzes the outbreak of Jimmy’s anger.Influenced by the ethical environment and Sphinx factor,Jimmy’s anger accumulates and then explodes.Jimmy has multiple ethical identities.In the middle-class society,Jimmy is a cynical and frustrated outsider;in the working-class community,Jimmy is a kind-hearted and sympathetic friend;and in his family,Jimmy turns to be an egocentric and irresponsible husband.Jimmy also faces ethical predicament.He is not only trapped in the ethical conflict between love and sex with the two female characters in the play,but caught in the ethical conflict between rebelling against the society and compromising with the reality.Finally,the thesis discusses the waning of Jimmy’s anger.With Alison’s miscarriage and Helena’s leaving,Jimmy’s ethical consciousness gradually awakens.Realizing the importance of abiding by the social ethical rules,Jimmy chooses to reconcile with the ethical norms.This thesis,conducting a new interpretation on Look Back in Anger from the perspective of ethical literary criticism,probes into the writer Osborne’s ethical thoughts and deep anxiety.By characterizing the“Angry Young Man”Jimmy and focusing on his“anger”,Osborne reveals the severe oppression on the working class brought by the post-war British society’s corruption,rigid hierarchy and social injustice,and expresses his sympathy and ethical concern for them.Through presenting the alienated marriage between Jimmy and Alison,Osborne appeals for the returning of true love and normal marriage ethics.Literature is the artistic expression of ethics,thus the interpretation on Look Back in Anger from an ethical literary perspective can bring ethical enlightenment for today’s society.Besides,the thesis offers a new way to study“Angry Young Men”literary works. |
