Down and Out in Paris and London is a memoir of the famous writer, George Orwell, during his early years as a writer. The book follows his life when he was in his twenties, and living in Paris in London. At the beginning of the memoir, he is living in a run-down hotel in Paris.
Orwell often notes how poor his life is during the novel - both in friends and in money. He gets about six francs per day, which is enough for him to buy some food, which, considering that the hotel he lives in is infested with bugs, will probably go bad within 24 hours, and perhaps some extra money to buy a newspaper and some books.
Orwell was originally born into a middle-class family, so living in poverty was something very new to him. It is perhaps because of this that he exaggerates many of his happenings, specifically saying how he reaches "trouble at every turn".
Orwell still has one friend - living in Russia, Boris has enough wealth to offer for Orwell to stay with him. Or... at least he says he does. Orwell eventually finds out that Boris is even more broke than he is, and the two work together to find a job in the slums of Paris. Normally, when one thinks of Paris, they think of the rich beauty that it contains. However, they live in one of Paris' poorer neighborhoods - despite being "poorer", many of the neighborhood's members are still "eccentric".
Thinking he has struck it big, Orwell reluctantly decides to write for a newspaper about the British. This turns out to be a scam, and Orwell is kind of happy - he has never really wanted to get into politics in the first place. However, when both of them get employed working at a restaurant at Hotel X, they become excited again.
Here, Boris will work as a waiter, and Orwell will work in the back washing dishes. Perhaps, they think, they will even be able to get some free food so as to not spend their money. The job is Hotel X is quite reliable, but both of them end up quitting to join another restaurant venture.
Boris is sure that a new restaurant that is opening, called the Auberge, will be much better. However, it turns out to be a complete disaster - the rest of the staff is rude and lazy, and their pay is not that much. Orwell quits, and moves to England.
In England, Orwell continues looking for work, but in this time he becomes even poorer. However, as the novel concludes, he writes how much he has learned from his experiences in Paris and London. As a person of somewhat wealth, food may be taken for granted. However, poverty could mean starvation for millions of people around the globe. In this way, we should help our fellow neighbors and offer them the safety of health and long life.
