Down and Out in Paris and London Author: [British] George Orwell Publisher: Shanghai Translation Publishing House

George Orwell's Slum Adventures by Nineteen Eighty-Four

A little-known story about Orwell's early life

What kind of person is a prophet before he becomes a prophet?

George Orwell, the author of Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm and the prophet of dystopia, remained a staunch socialist throughout his life. This may confuse readers today who do not understand the changes in the political spectrum, but for Orwell, this was a natural choice.

Down and Out in Paris and London is Orwell's first officially published documentary work. It tells the story of Orwell's voluntary experience of walking into the slums in Paris and London and experiencing life at the bottom of society. After Orwell felt completely disgusted and desperate with the British colonial system, his literary dream finally blossomed for the first time after several setbacks. The experience in Paris and London can be seen as Orwell's confession and redemption journey for his service to the colonial system. As a loyal believer in the socialist system, perhaps Orwell's deliberate choice of wandering and poverty is a test of whether he can persist in implementing the socialist ideal. Paris and London are the most prosperous places in the capitalist world, but the poverty and hardship at the bottom of society are shocking. Orwell's sincere attitude of "willing to sink" and treating the working people equally is really an alternative among British left-wing literary writers. It is this spirit that makes Down and Out in Paris and London a classic documentary work exposing social injustice, which can still resonate with readers today.

George Orwell (1903-1950) was a great British humanitarian writer, journalist and social critic. His masterpieces "Nineteen Eighty-Four" and "Animal Farm" are popular and timeless. He is known as "the cold conscience of a generation of British people."