George Orwell is issued a challenge, one that seems near next to impossible to defeat.

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S.Dhillon

        George Orwell is issued a challenge, one that seems near next to impossible to defeat. The challenged offered by Victor Gollanez, a left – wing publisher. Orwell is to stay in Wigan Pier, the Northern part of Britain, and write about his experience. This experience influenced Orwell’s political views, and strengthened his perspective on the position of class.

        Orwell is a pro socialist who believes that the depression of a country is all blamed on the system. Living alongside miners, he is shown conditions which his ‘bourgeoisie’ side hasn’t been exposed to before. The miners, who work countless hours despite being underpaid, are looked down upon as dirty and as if they do not bath, by the middle class. Orwell is led to believe that the reason the miners are this way is the result of industrialism and the system they live in: “You cannot disregard them if you accept the civilization that produced them.” (Orwell,14). The historical events, and ‘money – grubbing’ people have let all this happen: “…and this is where it all led...with sickly aging people creeping round and round like them black beetles.”  Orwell notices that the ‘slum’ people can’t help it as he watches this young woman, in the depths of survival, who “knew exactly what was happening to her.”

        

        Another aspect of the masses that Orwell exaggerates is ‘the smell, the dominant and essential thing, is indescribable.” Here, Orwell shows his ‘snobbishness’ which is later in the book diminished as he interacts with the working class. The Bourgeoisie has grown up to believe this of the working class.

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        The lower-class people live in poor conditions, and are more prone to diseases (such as Tuberculosis). Overcrowding in cities is a problem, where there are four beds to eight people and the increase of population is not to blame, but the government is. It even seems that to even have children is an issue. In large amounts of caravans, where many families may live in, Orwell feels that the system is to blame for their situation. The government is aware of what is going on but are not doing anything about it: “local authorities are reticent about them” “…and the census ...

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