Megan Tuleya’s Reviews > Down and Out in Paris and London > Status Update

“I imagine there are quite a lot of tramps who thank god they are not tramps”(199).
Orwell spends the last part of the memoir largely describing his life on the streets and the curious people he not only meets but learns their life story. He describes the negative connotation of tramps that he previously thought but once he gets close to them and becomes one himself, he see that it is more dynamic.

“A beggar, looked at realistically, is simply a business man, getting his living, like other business men, in the way that come to hand”(174).
Orwell compares beggars to working class people and asks why they are different and despised. He concludes that beggars too have sold their honor but choose a trade in which one does not “earn” their living.

“He might be ragged and cold, or even starving, but so long as he could read, think and watch meteors,he was, as he said, free in his own mind”(167).

Even though Bozo is a beggar, he enjoys and has come to terms with his life. He enjoys and values thinking and small joys of life more than being financially secure.

“Roughly speaking, the more one pays for food, the more sweat and spittle one is obliged to eat with it”(80).
The way the food is handled in a hotel such as The X is focused more on appearance and promptness of making it, ignoring the sanitary aspect. It’s interesting to see a behind the scenes look on the facade of the hotels image that the guests see versus what actually happens in the chambers.

The small anecdotes that Orwell uses add lots of perspective and detail to the story. Stories of friends or peculiar situations add on to describe how life was at the time.