“Several noises recurred throughout the night. About once an hour the man on my left-a sailor, I think-woke up, swore vilely and lighted a cigarette, Another man, a victim of bladder disease, got up and noisily used his chamber-pot half a dozen times during the night. The man in the corner had a coughing fitContinue reading “RKS Literature: Back in London Still Impoverished Staying at “Good Beds for Single Men” (George Orwell)”
Tag Archives: George Orwell
RKS Literature: Fear of the Mob (George Orwell)
“Fear of the mob is a superstitious fear. It is based on the idea there is some mysterious, fundamental difference between rich and poor, as though they were two different races like negroes and white men. But in reality, there is no such difference. The mass of rich and poor are differentiated by their incomesContinue reading “RKS Literature: Fear of the Mob (George Orwell)”
RKS Literature: A Wild Saturday Night in Paris Ends (George Orwell)
“By half-past one the last drop of pleasure had evaporated, leaving nothing but headaches. We perceived we were not splendid inhabitants of a splendid world, but a crew of underpaid workmen grown squalidly and dismally drink. We went on swallowing the wine, but it was only from habit, and the stuff seemed suddenly nauseating. One’sContinue reading “RKS Literature: A Wild Saturday Night in Paris Ends (George Orwell)”
RKS Literature: No Sense in Losing Sleep Over a Murder (George Orwell)
“One night in the small hours, there was a murder just beneath my window. I was woken by a fearful uproar, and, going to the window, saw a man lying flat on the stones below; I could see the murderers, three of them, flitting away at the end of the street. Some of us wentContinue reading “RKS Literature: No Sense in Losing Sleep Over a Murder (George Orwell)”
RKS Literature: Easily Swindled Americans at Hotel X in Paris (George Orwell)
“According to Boris the same kind of thing went on in all Paris hotels, or at least in all the big, expensive ones. But I imagine that the customers in Hôtel X were especially easy to swindle for they were mostly Americans, with a sprinkling of English-no French- and seemed to know nothing whatever aboutContinue reading “RKS Literature: Easily Swindled Americans at Hotel X in Paris (George Orwell)”
RKS Literature: The Outlook of a Waiter (George Orwell)
“The waiter’s outlook is quite different. He too is proud in a way of his skill, but his skill is chiefly in being servile. His work gives him the mentality, not of a workman, but of a snob. He lives perpetually in sight of rich people, stands at their tables, listens to their conversation, sucksContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Outlook of a Waiter (George Orwell)”
RKS Literature: The Importance of Timing for a Hotel Chef (George Orwell)
“Undoubtedly the most workmanlike class, and the least servile, are the cooks. They do not earn quite so much as waiters but their prestige is higher and their employment steadier. The cook does not look upon himself as a servant; he is generally called ‘un ouvrier’ which a waiter never is. He knows his power-knowsContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Importance of Timing for a Hotel Chef (George Orwell)”
RKS Literature: “Down and Out in Paris and London” (George Orwell)
“Hotel work is not particularly hard, but by its nature it comes in rushes and cannot be economized. You cannot, for instance, grill a steak two hours before it is wanted; you have until the last moment, by which time a mass of other work has accumulated, and then do it all together, in franticContinue reading “RKS Literature: “Down and Out in Paris and London” (George Orwell)”
RKS Literature: The Russian Duke Military Scam (George Orwell)
“In general, the Russian refugees in Paris are hard working people, and have put up with their bad luck far better than one can imagine Englishmen of the same class doing. There are exceptions of course. Boris told me of an exiled Russian duke whom he had once met, who frequented expensive restaurants. The dukeContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Russian Duke Military Scam (George Orwell)”
RKS Literature: The Almost Pleasure of Being Down and Out (George Orwell)
“And 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, as knowing yourself at last genuinely down and out. You have talked so often of going to the dogs-and well here are theContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Almost Pleasure of Being Down and Out (George Orwell)”
