Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England. 1989.

The commentary, “ Down And Out In Paris And London” by George Orwell is quite interesting. In this commentary, Orwell explores the life of the disenfranchised poor, the underemployed, and the flat broke. Orwell not only wrote about this lifestyle, he explored and spent quite some time living amongst the poor. He spent some time working as a plongeur in the hotels of Paris. He also spent time living amongst the tramps and the poor in London. Throughout the book, Orwell explores in detail the life of the poor through the people he met along the way; of course, changing their names to keep their identity. Orwell explores what goes on behind the scenes. He also gives the readers a detailed look at both the poor side and the common wealth side. He is able to do this because he has lived both sides of life. Therefore, Orwell has the qualifications to inform the reader about poverty, without looking down on it. “Poverty is what I’m writing about,”(p.5), is Orwell’s thesis, which is relevant throughout the book. What makes this commentary fascinating is that Orwell does not offer a solu

Overall, “Down And Out In Paris And London” is a sophisticated interpretation of Orwell’s time when he was ‘down and out’ in the 1930’s. Orwell’s time in Paris and London has definitely had an influence on the audience the book was intended for, the major theme of the book, and his purpose in writing it. He has certainly fulfilled his purpose of writing this commentary. The insightful comments made are quite thought provoking as well. He has supported his case throughout the book and has clearly written on the subject for his intended audience. Because the book was published in the 30’s, some may feel that his views and insights are not relevant to today’s society. On the contrary, it is relevant to today’s society. Of course, it is much less difficult to be ‘down and out’ now then it was sixty years ago.

Orwell’s explorations amongst the poor have influenced who his intended audience is. His book was written in the first person narrative, which is powerful at getting a message across. “Down And Out In Paris And London” was intended for a specific audience, an audience who does not know about poverty. Orwell’s first encounter with poverty is the same typical encounter that people who do not know what poverty is like might expect. Orwell places himself in the audience’s perspective and explains that, “you thought it would be quite simple; it is extraordinarily complicated. You thought it would be terrible; it is merely squalid and boring,”(13). Throughout the book of Orwell’s journals, he constantly reminds the audience what poverty is like. He also often uses determiners such as ‘you’ or ‘your’ which is effective in making the audience be part of his journey. Another factor that has influenced the type of audience that Orwell is writing for is the use of simple language.

Orwell

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