Review of Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell

‘Down and Out in Paris and London’ by George Orwell spots the personality behind the rags and describes the reality of poverty with little pretence.

Orwell conveys the personality behind the rags and reality of poverty through the characters he meets and describes.

Boris, Orwell’s Russian waiter companion, enriches the book with his gregarious - yet quirky - personality. Boris also is a central focus in Orwell's description of poverty.

Tramps are another major part of Orwell's description of poverty. While spending time as a tramp he discovers the reality of their lives. Orwell also is fascinated by the queer nature of tramps and their personality and character, chiefly Paddy and Bozo.

Orwell also describes the reality of the French hospitality industry illustrating in detail the; slave-like occupation – of the 'ploguer'; hygiene in the Hotel X and the thieving culture amongst staff at the Hotel X.

Orwell describes the personalities of the Hotel staff; the class system associated with staff. The nature of cooks; the ‘outlook’ of waiters and the pride of work among all the staff.

Orwell uses the characters in the text to tell of the reality of poverty, conveying the personality behind the rags with rich memorable stories.

Of the array of characters in the text, there are several that serve as ‘companions’ for Orwell on his journey. Of these ‘companions’.

Boris is the most significant as he is accompanies Orwell the longest. Orwell Introduces Boris in chapter V, when he goes to see if he could possibly get a job as a dishwasher, to no avail.

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Boris is a Russian waiter who by nature is ultra-optimistic - except when starved. He loves all things military, as he used to be a soldier.

At times Boris says quite obviously untrue statements about life .e.g. “Nothing is easier to get than money MON AMI”.

Together Orwell and Boris seek out work in Paris, going to hotels, cafeterias looking for work - at one stage even the docks. Although they do not find jobs, their adventures around Paris are memorable, range from visits to make shift employment agency cafes to writing articles about English politics for communists.

Boris is a key component in Orwell’s description of the reality of poverty in Paris. Orwell's account of Boris’ dressing regime is one of the first in describing the reality of poverty.

The fact that Boris goes to such extreme lengths to make himself look presentable says a lot about is personality - even when starving and poverty stricken he keeps up the strict routine.

Another major part of Orwell’s description of the reality of poverty is the tramps. They live in horrible conditions and live a futile life on the road. There are numerous examples from the book that attest to this. But Orwell seems to have a lot of empathy for the tramps.

When discussing tramps (and how he seeming acts towards them) in the text Orwell regards them with a lot of respect.

The Tramps in the text are colourful, intelligent and at times quite amusing - even though Orwell describes the as “...the most docile, broken spirited creatures imaginable” P23.

One tramp in particular, Bozo the screever, a pavement artist, stands out in the book. Bozo gives an opinion on poverty that Orwell has not seen before and for this reason bozo intrigues Orwell.

Orwell spots the unique out look that bozo has - to never let poverty break you. Most of Orwell's time in London is spent with tramps, even going as far as to try and defend them to certain extent in his notes. because of this they are major component is his description of the reality of poverty.

Although for the majority of the text Orwell is unemployed - of a short while he is employed at the Hotel X in Paris. While at the Hotel X, Orwell encounters the rich personality of the hotel and its staff. He additionally discovers the vile reality of the hospitality industry at that time.

Although only employed as a Plongeur at the Hotel X, Orwell observes the whole process of hotel and the people that make it run. Making observations about each ‘class’ of employee. The waiters have, as Orwell put it, “...the mentality, not of a workman, but of a snob…they have the pleasure of spending money by proxy” P89.

The waiters intent to one day be the costumer but since they live on tips can never achieve their goal. The waiters Orwell describes generally are quite vain and very cunning, not above stealing. The cooks in the Hotel X are quite different. They take pride in their work and Orwell speak more highly of them then he does the waiters.

Although Orwell is constantly berated by the cooking staff he seems to admire them for their skill. The reality of the hygiene in the Hotel X is astounding. Orwell has an account of the state of the kitchens in the text.

‘Down and Out in Paris and London’ by George Orwell spots the personality behind the rags and describes the reality of poverty with little pretence.

Boris offers great optimism to Orwell as they seek work in Paris. As well as highlighting lengths a nearly homeless waiter must go to in order to be presentable.

The tramps portray the reality of being homeless in England. The also provide an amazing personality to the text, Orwell even defends them in his notes.

The cleanliness at the Hotel X was awful but the reality of the industry. The staff at the Hotel X had rich and diverse personalities each ‘class’ having a different outlook on life but all taking genuine pride in their work.

Orwell uses the characters in the text to tell his story, the rich and believable characters help to describe the reality of poverty in London and Paris.