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Why Are Beggars Despised? by George Orwell

"A beggar, looked at realistically, is simply a businessman, getting his living" By Richard Nordquist, About.com Guide George Orwell (Eric Blair) 1903-1950 Best known for his novels Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-four (1949), George Orwell (pseudonym of Eric Arthur Blair) was one of the most notable political writers of his day. The following short piece has been drawn from Chapter 31 of Orwell's first book, Down and Out in Paris and London (1933), a semiautobiographical account of living in poverty in both cities. Though the word "beggars" is rarely heard nowadays, the "ordinary human beings" he describes are, of course, still with us. Consider whether or not you agree with Orwell's thesis. Why Are Beggars Despised? by George Orwell It is worth saying something about the social position of beggars, for when one has consorted with them, and found that they are ordinary human beings, one cannot help being struck by the curious attitude that society takes towards them. People seem to feel that there is some essential difference between beggars and ordinary "working" men. They are a race apart--outcasts, like criminals and prostitutes. Working men "work," beggars do not "work"; they are parasites, worthless in their very nature. It is taken for granted that a beggar does not "earn" his living, as a bricklayer or a literary critic "earns" his. He is a mere social excrescence, tolerated because we live in a humane age, but essentially despicable. Yet if one looks closely one sees that there is no essential difference between a beggar's livelihood and that of numberless respectable people. Beggars do not work, it is said; but, then, what is work? A navvy works by swinging a pick. An accountant works by adding up figures. A beggar works by standing out of doors in all weathers and getting varicose veins, chronic bronchitis, etc. It is a trade like any other; quite useless, of course--but, then, many reputable trades are quite useless. And as a social type a beggar compares well with scores of others. He is honest compared with the sellers of most patent medicines, highminded compared with a Sunday newspaper proprietor, amiable compared with a hire-purchase tout--in short, a parasite, but a fairly harmless parasite. He seldom extracts more than a bare living from the community, and, what should justify him according to our ethical ideas, he pays for it over and over

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in suffering. I do not think there is anything about a beggar that sets him in a different class from other people, or gives most modern men the right to despise him. Then the question arises, Why are beggars despised?--for they are despised, universally. I believe it is for the simple reason that they fail to earn a decent living. In practice nobody cares whether work is useful or useless, productive or parasitic; the sole thing demanded is that it shall be profitable. In all the modem talk about energy, efficiency, social service and the rest of it, what meaning is there except "Get money, get it legally, and get a lot of it"? Money has become the grand test of virtue. By this test beggars fail, and for this they are despised. If one could earn even ten pounds a week at begging, it would become a respectable profession immediately. A beggar, looked at realistically, is simply a businessman, getting his living, like other businessmen, in the way that comes to hand. He has not, more than most modern people, sold his honor; he has merely made the mistake of choosing a trade at which it is impossible to grow rich. (1933) Down And Out In Paris And London, 1933 http://grammar.about.com/od/classicessays/a/beggarsorwell.htm REACTION: There is a strong discriminating line between the beggars and the businessman, making them two exactly opposite people in the world of earning Gold. A businessman controls employment in a profit-oriented enterprise. It is a white collar occupation, educated and high-salaried workers. They are dressed in business attires consisting of a suit with a collar shirt and a necktie. On the other hand, a beggar is an impoverished person, asking for donations to everyone who passes by in front of them. Dressed in tattered clothes, beggars are commonly found in public places such as street corners or public transport. Both of them earned in different ways, but a businessman gets big money while a beggar earns only a penny. Both of them works hard; a beggar may not be legally working, but all his suffering is worth an honor. Employers may be earning a lot, living a fireproof life, but not all of them are living decently. Still, a beggar is hated for what he does. He is naturally hated and pitied for their unfortunate lifestyle. Others think that these poor beggars are not earning a living; they are just sitting in the streets, waiting for alms. But what others do not know is what they do is the same as everybody do for a

living. However, the mistake is that they fail to earn a decent living, making them parasitic and useless in the eyes of those in higher grounds. This is not the only reason why beggars are hated - they fail to help themselves. If one has dreams, he must work hard to reach it by trying every possible or impossible way to reach success. He must try to educate himself by working part time, by applying in scholarships, by finding employment, serving others and all other possible way other than begging in the streets. Beggars are truly despised universally, but the desire for fulfilment is more universal. Begging wont carry them to their success; there are no stories of successful man who reach their goals through begging. Having a good life can not be get if one will not risk; simply, there are no comfort zones and short cuts for having a great life. Today is a different scenario; beggars are employed and controlled by illegal companies. That is another reason for them to be hated or pitied. Even how hard and complicated the situation is, man must never let the evil forces overcome him. He must try to overcome his fears, doubts and procrastination. He must not only believe that God will save him soon, but he must pray and work to reach his success. Life is not really about earning money, but it is how man live with it. I still have great hopes for the beggars. They are so great that they have eaten their pride and honor to live a life of contentment. They just choose the wrong way of earning a living.