Orwell also describes instances of charity. One church gave a free tea to tramps once a week – a “one-pound jam-jar of tea each, with six slices of bread and margarine”. Straightaway a church service began, during which the tramps behaved atrociously. Wondering why, Orwell concluded that “The explanation, of course, was that we out-numbered the congregation and so were not afraid of them. A man receiving charity practically always hates his benefactor” [p186]. But he then describes one situation where that was very different – that of a clergyman who:
was shy and embarrassed, and did not speak except for a brief good evening; he simply hurried down the line of men, thrusting a ticket upon each, and not waiting to be thanked. The consequence was that, for once, there was genuine gratitude, and everyone said that the clergyman was a – good feller. [p187]
PS I have been reading authors other than Orwell - just had some catch-up blogging to do. You'll be hearing from a more varied pool soon ;).
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2 comments:
Loving the Orwell refresher! Down and Out is a great book isn't it. I also loved The Road to Wigan Pier (though the first half is a bit more readable than the last)
That's good - you have Kate and Nick to thank for it :). I find that I suffer from our society's thing of thinking we are more advanced than our elders, so it's always good for me to read wisdom penned almost a century ago.
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