Down and Out in Paris and London Literary Elements

A memoir

The events of the story take place in Paris and London in 1930s.

The story is written from the first-person point of view. George Orwell is the narrator.

The tone is crisp and energetic, though some topics described in the memoir are rather dark, thus create gloomy and depressing mood.

George Orwell is the protagonist. There is no a definite antagonist; however, it could be capitalism that makes people work for 14 hours a day to earn something to eat and have a roof over their heads.

It is society vs. society; it is a conflict of rich and poor.

The end of his life as a tramp is a climax of a story.

“The lodgers were a floating population, largely foreigners, who used to turn up without luggage, stay a week and disappear again.”
It is obviously clear that the protagonist is one of foreigners who came to Paris with empty pockets. Due to the fact that Paris of that time couldn’t afford much, readers might guess that hard times lie ahead of him.

“I shall be starving in a day or two- shocking, isn’t it?”
The character speaks so lightly about it as if he doesn’t fully understands what hunger can do.

The story alludes to the Great Russian Revolution.

Images of Paris, working places and life conditions are depicted in the story.

“Boris always talked of the war as the happiest time.”
The paradox is that the war was indeed the happiest time for him. Boris was still young, full of hopes, had power and money.

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“Calling for hands”. (Hands are metonymy that means workers).

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