The Hidden Fire: The True Character of Allison Porter Yanil Sabrina Feliz Pache College

When talking about masterpieces in English theater, John Osbornes “Look back in anger” must be mentioned. Kenneth Tynan, critic for The Observer in 1956, claimed the play to be “the first totally original play of a new generation” (Bond, 1999). The main character, Jimmy Porter, breaks the mold of the “knight in a shining armor” and brings on scene the “angry young man”. Behind Jimmys fiery, outshining monologues stands his friend Cliff and his wife, Alison. Some critics define Alison as a submissive figure, victim of Jimmys rage. But this assumption impedes us to discover another reality behind her silence. In this essay I argue that Alison is not really a passive character and how the couple is just evading reality with the figures of “the squirrel and the bear”.

Emine Tecimer quotes from Austin E. Quigley: “Jimmy’s attacks on Alison repeatedly focus on what he perceives as her lethargy, her timidity, and her readiness to accept whatever comes her way” (Quigley, 1997, cited in Tecimer, 2005: 14). Before moving on, lets develop these ideas around Alison. Both her actions—leaving everything she knew for Jimmy— and some pieces in Jimmys discourse— “Oh, it’s not that she hasn’t her own kind of passion. She has the passion of a...