Down and Out in Paris and London IOC Question Bank
1. In your opinion does the narrator prefer Paris or London? 2. What misfortunes does the narrator face in each city and how are those misfortunes different? 3. Two thirds of the book is set in Paris and only one third in London. What possible reasons might Orwell have had for structuring the text in this way? 4. How do you respond to the character of Boris? 5. How do you respond to the character of Bozo the screever? 6. What role does Charlie play in the novel? 7. How are women presented in Down and Out in Paris and London? 8. How far can it be argued that Paddy and Bozo are similar characters? 9. Orwells language choices help to reflect the differences in the characters cultural backgrounds. How do we see this in the presentation of Paddy? 10. What can be understood about the nature of living conditions in Paris through the relationship between Boris and his roommate, The Jew?
11. In Chapter 11 the narrator gives a description of his working day as a plongeur, "I got up and went out, feeling as though my back were broken and my skull filled with hot cinders. I did not think that I could possibly do a day's work. And yet, after only an hour in the basement, I found that I was perfectly well." How does this expand our understanding of what working life was like in Paris? 12. The narrator describes Marios working practices when at Hotel X as being beyond all praise. Comparatively when working with Jules at the Auberge de Jehan Cottard, the narrator says Jules "skulks persistently". How does Orwell deepen our understanding of working life in Paris by comparing these two characters? 13. Is man versus society the most significant theme in Down and
Out?
14. How is religion presented in Down and Out? 15. How is education dealt with in the novel? 16. What is it to be down and out and how are such ideas presented in the book? 17. In Chapter 3 the narrator says: "..there is another feeling that is a great consolation in poverty. I believe everyone who has been hard up has experienced it. It is a feeling of relief, almost of pleasure, at knowing yourself at last genuinely down and out." What does the narrator mean by this and is it reflective of how poverty is presented throughout the text?
18. The narrator provides insights into certain places that offer refuge to the homeless in London, including: Spikes; Salvation Army Shelters; The Embankment; The Coffin and Charing Cross Bridge. How does reflection on such places help to build our understanding of poverty? 19. In Chapter 33 the narrator describes an unusual situation saying: What could a few women and old men do against a hundred hostile tramps? They were afraid of us, and we were frankly bullying them. It was our revenge upon them for having humiliated us by feeding us." How can we interpret this scene? 20. What impression does Orwell give of the welfare system in London? 21. How does the narrator present the governments of Paris and London and which system is he more favourable towards? 22. Does the narrator establish a sense of belonging at any point in the text? 23. In Chapter 36 the narrator ponders: "When one comes to think of it, tramps are a queer product and worth thinking over. It is queer that a tribe of men, tens of thousands in number, should be marching up and down England like so many wandering Jews." Why does he make this comparison? 24. Could Orwell be viewed as racist in Down and Out in Paris and
London?
25. To what extent is Down and Out in Paris and London a work of non-fiction? 26. Why do you think the narrator is never given a name in the book? 27. What might be gained and lost in the novel with it being entirely limited to first person narrative? 28. Could the novel have been successful if the narrator had been female? 29. What do the occasional flashbacks and essays add to the book? 30. How effectively does Orwell achieve humour in the book? 31. In the final paragraph the narrator discusses the things he has learnt from being hard up, saying: 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 be surprised if men out of work lack energy, nor subscribe to the Salvation Army, nor pawn my clothes, nor refuse a handbill, nor enjoy a meal at a smart restaurant. That is a beginning." How far do you agree that this is an effective ending to the book? 32. The final sentence reads: That is a beginning. Why might Orwell have chosen these words?
