The Kitchen by Arnold Wesker is one of the remarkable plays of
the post-war period in England. This paper will analyse the class
conflict with its causes and effects in this play in the light of
Marxist literary criticism to point out that the socio-economic
conditions of the post-war period do not promise a good future to
the lower class with developed living and working circumstances.
The working class characters, the personnel of the Tivoli
Restaurant, are observed to work heavily under harsh conditions,
because of which they always have the possibility of injuring
themselves. Apart from their fast tempo, their hardwork is never
appreciated. Thus, their labour-power is commodified by the
owner of the restaurant, Mr. Marango, and they are alienated from
their work along with the food they cook. What is more, their hard
working and living circumstances result in a moral decline in the
lower class characters. In consequence, they cannot change their
viewpoints to improve their conditions and they continue living in
a vicious circle. They just work under the tension of being rebuked
or humiliated by Mr Marango, whose life is his restaurant.