Book Quote on Becoming Poor - George Orwell

From George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London, words on finding one's self newly-poor:

You discover, for instance, the secrecy attaching to poverty. At a sudden stroke you have been reduced to an income of six francs a day. But of course you dare not admit it - you have got to pretend you are living quite as usual. From the start it tangles you in a net of lies, and even with the lies you can hardly manage it.

Homeless in Paris: Photo Courtesy of Alex Proimos

Just as it was in the 1920s when Orwell experienced some of the things he wrote about in his partly-autobiographical novel, circumstances today can and do create instant poor people. Many who thought it could never happen to them, find themselves with little means, possibly no job, maybe even homeless. And, of course, the first instinct is to hide these issues from family, friends, acquaintances, and the world. No one wants to be pitied or looked down upon. So we lie.

Homeless in London WWII: Public Domain Photo

Many of Orwell's experiences which formed a basis for this book, occurred after he was robbed and found himself near-penniless. If you would like to read the rest of Down and Out in Paris and London, a good used copy is for sale along with Orwell's The Road to Wigan Pier at Weird Owl Vintage.

Book Quote on Old Age, Poverty and Bad Luck

From the book The Wishing Bone Cycle Narrative Poems from the Swampy Cree Indians, a short poem about being poor, having bad luck, and being old:

I am the poorest one.

I cook bark.

I have bad luck in hunting.

A duck caught my arrow

and used it

for her nest. 

I am the poorest one.

I sit in mud and weep.

I have bad luck in hunting.

A goose caught my arrow

and broke it 

in two. 

I am old, old.

Don't bring me pity, 

but food

yes.

 Photo Courtesy of Nir Nussbaum

Photo by Chalmers Butterfield - Creative Commons

The poem is attributed to John Rains but, according to the book and Cree tradition, it now belongs to the world community. Once a poem has been spoken, it becomes community property. Thus it may continue on with many variations.