Posted by rj on November 13, 2001 at 16:29:47:
In Reply to: can some nice person give me some critical thoughts on orwell's down and out in paris and london????? please??? pretty please??? posted by niamh o'reilly on November 13, 2001 at 15:31:08:
Perhaps the biggest flaw is the lack of any substantial solutions he is able to propose. From memory, near the end he makes some small-scale recommendations to alleviate the tramp's plight. In his defence, Orwell does talk about the irrational fear of the working class "mob". And, of course, the book's aim is to inform a middle class readership of the humanity of the lowest classes. In doing so, presumably Orwell hoped he could invigorate social reform. However his suggestions are, given the extent of the problem he documents, inadequate and never given much room in the book.