Hpianu Daniela (Andrie) MII CCBCG

Language, Literature, Society in The Ruling Class

What may a name convey?

The artistic manifestations that appear at a certain period in a society are not
just a twist of fate. There are external stimuli which encourage them to come into being. A
certain societys manifestation may trigger a certain type of literature to emerge.
The 60s and the early 70s were troubled years for the British economy that
was far from the boom. The strikes were often encountered and the government seemed to be
too overwhelmed to find the efficient solutions. On the other hand, the 60s may be seen as a
period of decline of the restraints imposed by traditional organized religions. This is the
Beatles time as they reflected the changes in the society consciousness. From the exploration
of new cultural options The Pythons emerged. They formed a surreal comedy group who were
the protagonists of The Pythons Flying Circus, a very successful television comedy sketch
show.
During this period, Peter Barnes became famous for his play The Ruling
Class, a baroque comedy which made its debut at the Nottingham Playhouse. It attracted a
lot of interest as it was in itself an exploration of nonrealistic or anti-naturalistic resources, a
totally new thing in theatre at the time. It did not take long for Peter Barnes to turn his play
into a movie, a movie in which he preserved the exaggerated theatrical performance of actors.
As the ruling class, the class that should exert power and authority did not make its presence
felt in the society, it became the subject of mocking and distrust. Represented by a
schizophrenic in whose hands concentrated the power and responsibility an English Earl
should have, the ruling class seemed to be in decline and on the path of self-destruction.
The name of the protagonist, artfully interpreted by Peter OToole, is not
chosen at random. Jack seems to be a pretty old common English name, a short name of John
and a familiar term of address to a social inferior, nickname for Johan John1. The
definitions given in dictionaries all hint at a device used for lifting something heavy, a
playing card that has a picture of a soldier or servant and that is worth more than a ten and
less than a queen or man usually used as an intensive in such phrases as every man
jack.2 It is said that names are closely related to personalities and that people will eventually
act according to his/her given name. This is what happens to the protagonist of the film.
Although he rejects his identity from the very beginning, as he rejects his given name, he
eventually comes to embrace it. In the first part of the movie, he acts as an insane person as he
perceives himself as an embodiment of Jesus Christ and in the letter one, when everybody
expects him to lead a normal life as he is cured, he passes to another level of his insanity, a
more subtle and deceiving one. His initially passivity alludes to the passivity and incapacity of
1

Jack. Origin of Jack. Merriam Webster Online. Merriam Webstern, n.d. Web. 15 Jan.
2014. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jack.
2

Jack. Def. 1, 2 Merriam Webster Online. Merriam Webstern, n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jack.

Hpianu Daniela (Andrie) MII CCBCG

the British ruling class that is reduced to meaningless inefficient speeches as such a speech is
used at the beginning of the film and a quite similar one at its ending. The role of the movies
symmetry is to emphasize a closed rotten system which destroys everything it touches. All the
people who enter it have no way to escape: they either die or go insane. From hunters many
of them become hunted. Sir Charles' wife, Lady Claire is murdered by Jack, Sir Charles, his
uncle, suffers a debilitating stroke and Dr. Herder has a nervous breakdown when he realizes
what Jack has done. He murders Grace, his wife, as well. Under the mask of Jack the
Ripper he commits abominable facts and not only that he gets away with it but he even joins
the House of Lords with a frenzy speech in favor of capital and corporal punishment. His
colleagues are not able to make the difference between an honorable man and a lunatic and
they applaud with enthusiasm. This may suggest that the ruling class does not make the
difference between illusion and reality or between delusion and sanity.
It seems that this film illustrates the saying All work and no play makes Jack a
dull boy . Jack plays a lot with the people around him. His encounter with Grace is a play
and their relationship proves to be a play, too. He behaves as if he is aware that he belongs to
a play where everything revolves around him. Although he seems to be a puppet, he turns the
others into his puppets, deceiving them. It is a game in which only the strongest and the fittest
wins. What does it mean to be the strongest and the fittest? Jack has proved very well that
the strongest means to drag everyone after him only to eliminate him/her later. He is a fast
learner as he learns fast the rules of the game he plays. Unfortunately, he is not able to tell the
real feelings from the false ones and the only solution he sees is to eliminate everyone who
stands in his way. As his name suggests, he seems to be the illustration of all men in the ruling
class every man jack. So this is not an isolated case of incompetence but in fact a
generalized fact. The indifference of the ruling class is not only manifested towards the simple
people but it is manifested towards their members as well. The only quality required for
being a member in the House of Lords is that of a noble lineage. It is thus suggested that this
fact is the root of all evil in the United Kingdom. If we take into consideration that the name
of the national flag is Union Jack, then a parallel can be drawn between what this flag
symbolized in the past and what it stands for now. It seems that it has lost its essence and it
turned into just a material thing. Formed by combining the red and white crosses of St
3

George, St Andrew, and St Patrick and retaining the blue ground of the flag of St
Andrew, it is a symbol of preserved faith, of respect for the others differences, a
thing that seems to be lost nowadays. Faith is turned into a laughing stock
suggesting that it has lost its meaning. The way in which the film ends, with the
words uttered by the offspring Im Jack, Im Jack emphasizes the continuity of
the course of actions that have been established so far, a circle that if it is not
broken as soon as possible may go on forever as a perpetuum mobile. From this
point of view, the films message may be a sign of concern for the future
generations that will consider fit this type of behavior exhibited here by Jack.
The word play is alluded to here several times differently. To begin
with, it is a play turned into a film in which the theatrical interpretation is skillfully
3

Idioms and phrases of Jack. The Free Dictionary. Farflex. Web. 16 Jan.2014.
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/jack.

Hpianu Daniela (Andrie) MII CCBCG

put forth. Secondly, the characters seem to play with words that lead to a play with other

people feelings and lives. The border between reality and imagination is very thin and may be
easily trespassed. What is reality made of? It is made of things believed true at a certain
moment in time. As the truth is relative and every person may have his/her version of it,
anything is possible and nothing seems to be outrages any more. It depends on the perspective
of looking at things. Seen in this light, Jacks behavior is his way of dealing with reality and
with society. Alienated from it, he does not know how else to interact with people than to
shock them and making himself the object of their debate. In the latter part of the movie, he
becomes more skillful in interacting with people and turns himself into an object of desire.
Thus, he loses his identity for good and he finds himself caught into a maze he cannot escape.
He may be considered the exponent of the ruling class itself which is unable to cope with the
problems of the British society at the time.

References:

The Ruling Class.

YouTube.Web. 11Nov. 2013.

Dir.

Peter

Medack.

Prod.

ChorltonBrook.

Jack. Origin of Jack. Merriam Webster Online. Merriam Webstern,

n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jack>.

Jack. Def. 1, 2 Merriam Webster Online. Merriam Webstern, n.d.

Web. 15 Jan. 2014. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jack.
Idioms and phrases of Jack. The Free Dictionary. Farflex. Web. 16
Jan.2014. <http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/jack>.