Significant Differences
Poverty in 1930s Europe
In the spring of 1928 Orwell moved to Paris on the pretext of ‘living on less money while writing two novels’ and ‘learning French’ (Orwell, ‘Introduction’ 221). Having made little in the way of his writing efforts, he was finally forced to look for a job — ten weeks later. in the fall of 1929 working as a dishwasher and kitchen manager representing the ‘only time when he was very poor’ in Paris (Davison 6). As befits a novel taken from a living experience, the poverty presented in Down and Out is an individual nature as it paints (and easily names) the situations of the various ‘low’ characters encountered. This sensitivity to the background and history of human life implies a certain social movement that is not in Wigan Pier writing, rather, Orwell’s views of deep poverty and general poverty as a feature of the daily life of the working class in England. When the last letter adopted the report method, Down and Out ‘is like a magazine,’ as Raymond Williams states: ‘The inclusion is the experience of not having money in a modern city: the experience of washing machines and the experience of not having money in a modern city. tramps, dirty rooms, dosshouses, regular wards (Grusky 4). The author exists, but only as these things happen to him and others. In the opening pages of the book, the narrator thinks about his reason for giving this account of his Paris days: Poverty is what I write about, and I had my first connection with poverty in these slums.
The shack, with its filth and its healthy lives, first became a lesson in poverty, then became the center of my own experience. That is why I try to give an idea of what life was like there. (Down and Out 5) This episode represents Orwell’s complex attraction to poverty and a list of goals that work for his personal development, career and morals. The idea of making a ‘first touch’ and doing a ‘study-thing,’ for example, highlights Orwell’s depth of poverty and the uncomfortable foundation of his bildungsroman in the ethos of adoption and testing that can help but irritate the poor. The fact that Orwell did not return long after a five-year service with the Imperial Police Force in Burma further complicates this notion of ‘communicating’ with the poor – a grim reminder of what Seth Koven points to as ‘the impact of imperialism on captivity’. ‘from the Victorian era onwards’ ‘the slums of the metropolitan and remote areas of the empire were connected with the idea of a British state as places of freedom and danger, missionary devotion and sexual opportunity’ (Alfani 3-40). Orwell went on to expose the obvious imperialist ethos in the days of Burma (1934), showing his sensitivity to the oppression and exploitation that undermined British colonial rule. However, the author cannot completely eliminate the tendency for colonialism to bring about his project to expose the reality of poverty at home by going ‘native’ to the western countries of England and France.
Orwell also edited the manuscript which would eventually be Down and Out a few times and did not get published easily. Among the first critics were T.S. Eliot who refuses as a Faber and Faber student for legal reasons, assuming ‘badly constructed’ (Ingle 30). After a close friend placed the article in the hands of a book agent Leonard Moore finally received a warm welcome and Victor Gollancz ” brave new ‘publishing house, which his readers’ regarded as an important book about the lives of the poor. deserves public attention ‘(Ingle 30–31). Orwell’s memorandum of engagement promised to close the gap between the popular protagonist and the political educator by bringing awareness to the issue that was so important to the Left at the time. The book helped to establish Orwell’s famous image of the ‘Normal Man,’ says Redden, noting that the reviewers ‘immediately praised the author of the book Down and Out for his “great sympathy with the man on the street”. In this way, the representation of poverty in the Down and Out was initially constructed as a form of social justice. Their empathy identification withdrew any possible reservations about the author’s use of overcrowding or ‘passing class’ as evidence. Orwell’s methods, however, were not based solely on observation — he was a participant observer and thus the ‘interaction’ with the poor represented the author’s deep or practical knowledge.
Poverty in 21st Century US
According to the US Census Bureau’s Current Population Report 2019, 34 million Americans (or 10.5 percent of the global population) are deemed poor. In 2019, the census poverty rate was 11.7 percent, which corrects how government programs keep people poor. The child poverty rate in the United States was 14.4%, the lowest since 1973, with an average age of 65 or older of 8.9%. In comparison, these figures are actually good news (Eckert 155). In 2019, there were 4.2 million fewer impoverished people than the previous year, and poverty is at its lowest level since 1959. In 2019, poverty decreased for the sixth year in a row. All Hispanic ethnic groups and groups have experienced a decrease in poverty.
The Census Bureau’s figures, on the other hand, were compiled before the COVID outbreak threw the economy into disarray. The Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University calculated how the rate of obesity fluctuates month to month. The bureau reported the poverty rate surged to 17.3 percent in August 2020, dropped to 16 percent two months later, although it would have been far worse without exceptional government action, based on the pre-COVID-15 rate of 15% (compared to 10.5 percent according to the Census Bureau). Measuring poverty levels does little to better the lives of the poor but integrating and comprehending poverty statistics is critical in addressing (or resolving) the issue. In order to design and execute effective solutions, governments, policymakers, and society at large rely on reliable and timely data on poverty. The idea is to slowly disintegrate into this scourge of poverty, family by family and community by community (Eckert 160). Many Americans’ perceptions of poverty are shaped by the deterioration of families in large cities where manufacturing has vanished.
The true face of poverty, on the other hand, may be found in rural portions of the United States’ South and Southwest regions, where living standards have plummeted, and industries have yet to begin. The South accounts for nine out of ten of the United States’ poorest regions (averaged over two years, 2018-19). Mississippi is the state with the highest poverty rate (19.4% of the population); Louisiana (18.4%), Arkansas (15.0%), West Virginia (14.9%), Kentucky (14.6%), Alabama (14.4%), South Carolina (13.9%), Georgia (13.5%), and North Carolina (12.9%) are the states with the lowest poverty rates (Alfani). Many factors contribute to poverty in these areas, but the most obvious is that the agricultural economy was prioritized over education and innovation. Total poverty is defined as a lack of access to the fundamental requirements of life, such as food, clothing, shelter, safe drinking water, sanitation, education, and health care.
The standards have remained stable over time and are comparable across countries. One full measure, for example, is the percentage of people who eat enough food every day to sustain their bodies. This calorie amount – 2,000 – 2,500 per day – is used in all cultures throughout the world. Those who live on less than $ 1.90 a day are considered to be in extreme poverty. Extreme poverty is defined as a daily income of less than $ 3.20 in low-income nations and less than $ 5.50 in middle-income countries.
In 2017, 6.5 million people in Europe and Central Asia were living in extreme poverty, compared to about 431 million in Sub-Saharan Africa. According to the World Bank, the COVID epidemic would push between 88 million and 115 million people into severe poverty by 2020, rising to 150 million by 2021, reversing previous progress. According to the World Bank, global poverty dropped by around 1% each year between 1990 and 2015 (Alfani 1-40). “Poverty is defined as not being able to purchase what we all perceive to be fundamental necessities of life, rather than simply surviving on less money. The Poverty and Social Exclusion study is best provided to assist us grasp what poverty implies in this historical period, including the negative and positive elements.”
Perspective of Poverty
Most people did not have a lot of money during times of crises. The majority of people, on the other hand, owned radios – and listening to the radio was free. The most popular radio stations are those that provide a distraction from the audience’s daily hardships, such as Amos ‘n’ Andy, drama shows, and sporting events. Swing music has inspired people to dance away their problems. Despite the fact that money was scarce, people continued to watch movies. Music, “screwball” humor, and hard-boiled gangster films all provided an escape from the harsh reality of life in the 1930s. Millions of Americans have been affected by the global economic crisis. Many households, particularly those living in low-income areas, have lost land as a result of the purchase of luxury homes and the elimination of jobs.
For the great majority of Americans, including children, rising poverty is intrinsically related to rising levels of homelessness and food insecurity. Learn more about the consequences of poverty, homelessness, and hunger on children and adolescents in the sections below. Inequalities in income and wealth are widening at the same time. As indicators of economic stagnation become more visible, many of the most concerning barriers to opportunity are people with minimal resources.
Borrowing property, unfair credit markets, housing market depreciation, and foreclosure all limit the role of housing in settling personal financial and human settlements. Many of these issues first surfaced in colored communities in inner cities, but they are now well-known on Wall Street and pose a threat to low- and middle-income people. An increase in insecure populations and rising health-care expenses are threatening American society’s ability to stay healthy. Marginalized populations – races and ethnic groups, as well as the poor – bear the burden of our society’s issues. These new challenges should bolster our efforts to combat poverty and increase access to opportunities in the United States and around the world.
Works Cited
Alfani, G. “Epidemics, Inequality, and Poverty in Preindustrial and Early Industrial TimeS.” Journal of Economic Literature 60.1 (2022): 3-40. Web.
Eckert, A. “From Poverty to Informality? The social question in Africa in a historical perspective. The Social Question in the Twenty-First Century..” A Global View, (2019): 152-169. Web.
Grusky, D. B., & Hill, J. “Poverty and Inequality in the 21st Century.” In Inequality in the 21st Century (pp. 1-7). Routledge. (2018): 1-7. Web.