George Orwells Classic Essay on the Homeless

George Orwells Classic Essay on the Homeless Best known for his novels Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), George Orwell (pseudonym of Eric Arthur Blair) was one of the most notable political writers of his day. The following short piece has been drawn from Chapter 31 of Orwells first book, Down and Out in Paris and London (1933), a semiautobiographical account of living in poverty in both cities. Though the word beggars is rarely heard nowadays, the ordinary human beings he describes are, of course, still with us. Consider whether or not you agree with Orwells thesis.After reading Why Are Beggars Despised you may find it worthwhile to compare the piece with two essays by Oliver Goldsmith: A City Night-Piece  and The Character of the Man in Black. Why Are Beggars Despised? by George Orwell 1 It is worth saying something about the social position of beggars, for when one has consorted with them, and found that they are ordinary human beings, one cannot help being struck by the curious attitude that society takes towards them. People seem to feel that there is some essential difference between beggars and ordinary working men. They are a race apart - outcasts, like criminals and prostitutes. Working men work, beggars do not work; they are parasites, worthless in their very nature. It is taken for granted that a beggar does not earn his living, as a bricklayer or a literary critic earns his. He is a mere social excrescence, tolerated because we live in a humane age, but essentially despicable. 2 Yet if one looks closely one sees that there is no essential difference between a beggars livelihood and that of numberless respectable people. Beggars do not work, it is said; but, then, what is work? A navvy works by swinging a pick. An accountant works by adding up figures. A beggar works by standing out of doors in all weathers and getting varicose veins, chronic bronchitis, etc. It is a trade like any other; quite useless, of course - but, then, many reputable trades are quite useless. And as a social type a beggar compares well with scores of others. He is honest compared with the sellers of most patent medicines, high-minded compared with a Sunday newspaper proprietor, amiable compared with a hire-purchase tout - in short, a parasite, but a fairly harmless parasite. He seldom extracts more than a bare living from the community, and, what should justify him according to our ethical ideas, he pays for it over and over in suffering. I do not think there is anything about a be ggar that sets him in a different class from other people, or gives most modern men the right to despise him. 3 Then the question arises, Why are beggars despised?- for they are despised, universally. I believe it is for the simple reason that they fail to earn a decent living. In practice nobody cares whether 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. If one could earn even ten pounds a week at begging, it would become a respectable profession immediately. A beggar, looked at realistically, is simply a businessman, getting his living, like other businessmen, in the way that comes to hand. He has not, more than most modern people, sold his honor; he has merely made the mistake of choosing a trade at which it is impossible to grow rich. (1933) Other Responses To find out how other readers have responded to this excerpt from Orwells Down and Out in Paris and London, visit the discussion board at reddit/r/books.

Drivers Beware Stupid Laws Ahead!

Drivers Beware Stupid Laws Ahead! We all know that most driving laws are designed with our safety and best interests in mind. But times change, and sometimes the laws that fit them are late to the game. Here are some of the more hilarious laws that are still lurking around (longer than they should have): Driving in Oregon? Make sure you start your stopwatch when you open your door! Leaving it open too long may earn you a ticket.It’s also illegal to â€Å"demonstrate your physical endurance† while highway driving in Oregon- we just hope this doesn’t include staying awake behind the wheel!Need to catch up on the latest issue of X-Men or the Avengers? Just make sure you’re not driving in Oklahoma, where comic book reading and driving is a big no-no. We’re more concerned about driving where this behavior is legal.What’s up with Alabama? It’s actually legal to drive down a one-way street the wrong way if your vehicle is equipped with a lantern!Color careful? In Minneapolis it’s illegal to drive a red car down Lake Street and in Denver you can’t drive a black car on Sundays.Minnesota doesn’t want messy cars! In Minnetonka, it’s illegal to drive a vehicle with dirty wheels that make a mess on the roads.Sheep on board? If so, don’t drive through Montana- an unattended sheep in your truck cab can get you in hot water.Keep your weapons holstered when you see an animal from your vehicle in Tennessee. There’s no animal shooting if you’re in a moving car- unless it’s a whale (no joke, other than the law itself).No ice picks on your wheels in Montana folks†¦Who does this?Who knew Pennsylvania was so horse sensitive? If you’re driving by a team of horses, you must pull off the road and hide your vehicle under a blanket or canvas. And if you make the horses skittish, you’ll have to disassemble your vehicle(!)Yeah, these laws aren’t really enforced any longer, but still†¦driver s be wary, and stay safe on the roads. That’s always a good rule to follow!Read More at www.alltruckjobs.com