"I can point to one or two things I have definitely learned by being hard up. I shall never again think that all tramps are drunken scoundrels, nor expect a beggar to be grateful when I give him a penny, nor to be surprised if men out of work lack energy, nor subscribe to the Salvation Army, nor pawn any of my clothes, nor refuse a handbill, nor enjoy a meal in a smart restaurant."
Orwell's account of his own poverty, in itself, is not one of tragedy or desperation. Yes, he lives on little to no money from one day to the next, and is in near constant search for employment, but he is only troubled by poverty for a matter of months. At most a year (the timescale is a bit uncertain). However, during his time in Paris and London, he learns a lot about what it was really like to be poor, and casts his own views about why poverty happens and how the burden can be lightened.
Being a history student, I feel like I have a firm grasp upon what life was like at particular points in time. But I had no idea of the scale of poverty in Europe during the 1930s. It was quite frankly shocking. It is clear that the government and the majority of the population had no real desire to ease poverty; the measures they put in place to do this were wholly inadequate and degrading in nearly all cases. Accommodating tramps in prison like cell blocks overnight, and landlords charging eight-pence for a small coffin bed in a cramped, dirty, loud and crowded conditions seemed like the appropriate response to these dire circumstances.
Drawing from his own experience, Orwell suggests his own set of social reforms that could
potentially ease the burden on the poor. From a socialist perspective he argues for self sufficient farms to replace tramp 'workhouses' and better conditions in overnight rooms. Both such simple and easily implementable ideas if it weren't for the ignorance of the government.
This should be on the top of the reading list for anyone who wants to discover the real history of the 1930's. Whilst great changes were taking place, it is important to remember that not everyone enjoyed the inter-war period.
