Down and Out in Paris

and London (1933)

Unemployed and Homeless by Alex Stavenitz (1935)

I said. It seems to me that when you

take a mans money away hes fit for
nothing from that moment.
No, not necessarily. If you set yourself to
it, you can live the same life, rich or poor.
You can still keep on with your books and
your ideas. You just got to say to
yourself, Im a free man in HEREhe
tapped his foreheadand youre all
right.

Within
certain limits,
it is actually
true that the
less money
you have, the
less you
worry
A Philosopher (Beggar with
Oysters) by Edouard Manet

The mass of the

rich and the poor
are differentiated
by their incomes
and nothing else,
and the average
millionaire is only
the average
dishwasher dressed
in a new suit.

Poverty frees them from ordinary

standards of behaviour, just as money
frees people from work.

It is fatal to
look hungry.
It makes
people want
to kick you.

Old Beggar by Louis Dewis

(1916)

Orwells mate, Paddy

He was horribly ashamed of being a
tramp, but he had picked up all the
tramps ways. He browsed the
pavements unceasingly, never missed a
cigarette endon our way into Edinbury
he saw a newspaper parcel on the
pavement, pounced on it, and found that
it contained two mutton sandwiches he
insisted on my sharing. pg. 134

The stars
are a free
show; it
dont cost
anything
to use
your
eyes

Homeless man, Montparnasse, Pari,

1935. Photograph by Roger Schall
(1904-1995)

In practice nobody
cares if work is
useful or useless,
productive or
parasitic; the sole
thing demanded is
that it shall be
profitable. In all the
modern talk about
energy, efficiency,
social service and
the rest of it, what
meaning is there
except " Get money,
get it legally, and get
a lot of it"? Money
has become the
grand test of virtue.
By this test beggars
fail, and for this they
are despised.

In the Spike (hostel for

tramps)

The scene in the bathroom was

extraordinarily repulsive. Fifty dirty,
stark-naked men elbowing ach other in
a room twenty feet square, with only
two bathtubs and two slimy roller
towels between them all. I shall never
forget the reek of dirty feet pg. 129

London Slang (tramp style)

A flattie= a policeman
A boozer= a public house
A hog= a shilling
Shackles= soup
A gagger= a beggar or street performer
A kip= a place to sleep in, nights lodging
Hard-up= tobacco made from cigarette
ends

Guardian Article
Questions during and after your reading:
The good writer attempts to speak in a way that is open to
the potential challenge of a reality she or he does not own
and control. How frequently do you think this takes place?
Is it possible at all?
2. Is the pursuit of a more honest form of writing, promoted by
Rowan Williams through the example of Orwell, a
worthwhile cause?
3. Does the article make an assumption that writing can be
produced in such a way to promote dialogue? Do you
agree, can writing be open to promote dialogue or will it
always be tainted by ideology, self justifications,
motivations and self serving agendas?
4. Does Williams argue that it is our responsibility to produce
alternative texts to those created by the media,
governments and corporations? If so do you agree?
1.