“ One cannot say that it is mere idleness on their part, for an idle man cannot be a plongeur, they have simply been trapped by a routine which makes thought impossible. ”
George Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London (1933). copy citation
| Author | George Orwell |
|---|---|
| Source | Down and Out in Paris and London |
| Topic | idleness routine |
| Date | 1933 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks01/0100171.txt |
Context
“He is cut off from marriage, or, if he marries, his wife must work too. Except by a lucky chance, he has no escape from this life, save into prison. At this moment there are men with university degrees scrubbing dishes in Paris for ten or fifteen hours a day. One cannot say that it is mere idleness on their part, for an idle man cannot be a plongeur, they have simply been trapped by a routine which makes thought impossible. If plongeurs thought at all, they would long ago have formed a union and gone on strike for better treatment. But they do not think, because they have no leisure for it; their life has made slaves of them.”
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