Jimmy Porter a disputed character
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JIMMY PORTER - A DISPUTED CHARACTER
The most impressive character of the play "Look Back in Anger" is certainly Jimmy Porter. In the stage directions, he is described as being a mixture of sincerity and joyful sarcasm, tenderness and devouring cruelty. It is not easy to stand or to like such a person; apparently he is vulgar and big-mouthed, but deeply inside he is more than that. He is a tragic hero whose life cannot be but complex, at the limit between tragedy and insanity.
He harasses everyone around him without any apparent reason. It seems that this is his nature - evil nature: "It's my type to arouse physical violence", he says. Jimmy takes great pleasure in teasing his friend Cliff, in torturing his wife Alison, or in insulting Alison's friend Helena. He has such a power over all of them, he shows himself almighty and entitled to behave the way he does. Jimmy pays no attention to the others' misery and is ecstatic when hurting their feelings. Still none of the characters, even his wife, are interested in finding out why he acts like this, what he really feels...