People are wrong when they think that an unemployed man only worries about losing his wages; on the contrary, an illiterate man, with the work habit in his bones, needs work even more than he needs money. An educated man can put up with enforced idleness, which is one of the worst evils of poverty. But a man like Paddy, with no means of filling up time, is as miserable out of work as a dog on the chain. That is why it is such nonsense to pretend that those who have 'come down in the world' are to be pitied above all others.The man who really merits pity is the man who has been down from the start,and faces poverty with a blank, resourceless mind.

Summary

This quote by George Orwell challenges the common perception that unemployment simply means a loss of income. Orwell argues that for individuals who have been raised with a strong work ethic but lack education, the need for work goes beyond monetary compensation. Unemployment for them entails not just financial struggles but also a deep sense of emptiness and purposelessness. Orwell suggests that an educated person can better cope with the frustration of unemployment, highlighting the significant impact of enforced idleness on those without the means to occupy their time. Ultimately, he suggests that it is misguided to sympathize more with those who have experienced a decline in social status than with those who have always been in poverty and lack the mental resources to confront it.

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