Criticism > Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism > Special Commissioned Entry on George Orwell, W. Scott Lucas - Orwell's Works

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ORWELL'S WORKS

DOCUMENTARIES

Down and Out in Paris and London (1933): Eric Blair, an aspiring writer, lives in the Latin Quarter of Paris and subsists by giving English lessons. The area is crowded with rundown lodgings; the residents are an eccentric mix, impoverished by ill fortune, drink, or choice. The center of social life is the bistro, where characters entertain each other with songs, stories, and games of chance.¹

After more than a year, Blair decides to seek a permanent job, but almost all his money is stolen by a fellow lodger. Life becomes a daily struggle for food and lodging, with Blair pawning his good clothes, and he seeks out a Russian waiter, Boris, who has assured him of kitchen work. After several false opportunities, including reportage for the newspaper of a Communist secret society and employment at a new Russian restaurant, the two men find jobs at the Hotel X, Blair as a plongeur (kitchen assistant)...

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1. Introduction
2. About George Orwell
3. Orwell At Work
4. Orwell's Era
5. Orwell's Works
6. Orwell On Orwell And Writing
7. Orwell As Studied
8. Copyright

1. George Orwell