The Road to Wigan Pier

“It was said that they were overheard anxiously asking the insurance-tout ‘how long people lived when they’d got cancer.’” 

The Brookers appear almost comically evil in certain passages of the book. Orwell describes Mr. Brooker as a filthy, money-obsessed exploiter, while he is disgusted by Mrs. Brooker’s way of life. Their plots concerning the elderly people who live in their home are especially repugnant; they hope to get a payout from the life insurance policies they’ve taken out in the old people’s name and wish that their deaths would come even sooner. The Brookers therefore reflect the callousness of capitalist society, which prioritizes profit over health and human lives.

“Your guide (a miner) is sympathetic.” 

The miner who guides Orwell through the mine is sympathetic to Orwell’s struggle to simply remain inside it. This sympathy reflects years of experience working in the terrible conditions. For a newcomer like Orwell, trying to maneuver through the mine is almost impossible, but for the miner, it’s the only way to survive. All of Orwell’s struggles remind the miner of the terrible conditions he is forced to endure. 

“And even now, if coal could not be produced without pregnant women dragging it to and fro, I fancy we should let them do it rather than deprive ourselves of coal.” 

Orwell spends significant time describing the terrible conditions the miners endure; even pregnant women are forced to perform hard, physical labor. However, he acknowledges that his lengthy descriptions will likely have no effect. People rely on coal far too much, so they would not (and possibly could not) give it up so that the miners would not have to perform such hard work. The passage therefore betrays the possible limits of Orwell’s book; what stands in the way of progress isn’t always ignorance, but rather reluctance to acknowledge what people already know, because it is so psychologically uncomfortable.

“When the miner comes up from the pit his face is so pale that it is noticeable even through the mask of coal dust.” 

The coal dust blackens the face of the miners and makes them almost unrecognizable. However, the severity of the conditions in the mine has such a profound effect that the paleness and the sickness are still noticeable beneath this layer of grime and filth. Miners put their bodies on the line for little money, being made filthy and sick by the exploitative mining companies. The paleness of those emerging from the mine reveals the extent of their suffering. 

“In any revolt the leaders would tend to be people who could pronounce their aitches.” 

Pronunciation and accents are important symbols in The Road to Wigan Pier. Orwell uses the pronunciation of “aitches” as a marker of class, suggesting that those who pronounce the letter h correctly belong to the middle class. Orwell reveals his own class in this moment, assuming that one pronunciation is more correct than any other. The difference in pronunciation therefore does more than illustrate the unexpected ways in which class differences can manifest; it also shows that Orwell still struggles to shake off his assumptions about class-based behavior. 

“Ideally, the worst type of slum landlord is a fat wicked man, preferably a bishop, who is drawing an immense income from extortionate rents.” 

Orwell would prefer to have the stereotypical landlord as a figure to loathe; such a villain would make his rhetorical appeals easier. However, he notes that many landlords are old people, women, and those who are struggling to get by. These people may not be as loathsome as the “fat wicked man” he wants to hate (38), but they do demonstrate the way in which capitalism consumes every single person, forcing them to operate in the same corrupt way. These landlords are products of the exploitative society, rather than the people responsible for the society’s failings. 

“Words are such feeble things.” 

After several chapters of trying to describe the appalling living and working conditions of the poor people in English industrial towns, Orwell concludes that words cannot wholly encapsulate the misery these people endure. The “feeble” words do not match the constant, grinding nature of their misery. Even though Orwell is a professional writer, he finds himself at the limits of his craft when attempting to show the reality of working-class life. 

“Wigan Pier had been demolished, and even the spot where it used to stand is no longer certain.” 

Orwell creates a contrast between the ravages of industrialization and a nostalgic view of the past. A seaside pier conjures images of vacations and fun, while the pier in Wigan has now been torn down as the city becomes more and more industrialized. The idealized past has been replaced by the harshness of the present. The world is now unrecognizable for working-class people, to the point where they cannot even be sure where the pier once was. This suggests two ways of interpreting the book’s title; the “road” to Wigan Pier refers both to the industrialist and capitalist path that has led to England’s current plight, and also to the way towards, if not an idealized past, at least a better future. 

“London is a sort of whirlpool which draws derelict people towards it, and it is so vast that life there is solitary and anonymous.” 

London is the most populated city in England, but the city still feels alienating due to the poverty its inhabitants experience. Their poor conditions make them feel alone in the bustling city; while they might be physically close to others—and are often forced into close quarters with many other people—there is no way to foster emotional connections.

“Losing your job does not mean that you cease to be a human being.” 

Orwell’s criticism of the capitalist society frequently targets people of his own demographic. Orwell is middle class and was raised with many of that class’s opinions and prejudices, one of which is the idea that self-worth is tied to employment. Orwell feels the need to remind middle-class people that unemployment does not mean that someone is no longer human. 

“A human being is primarily a bag for putting food into.”

Orwell breaks from the constant, depressing portrayals of working-class life to poke fun at the absurdity of the human body. This joke reminds the audience of the universality of the human condition; people from every social class need to eat. It also hints at the ways in which working-class people try to alleviate the misery of their existence; everyone appreciates tasty food, so the lower classes sometimes sacrifice nutritional value for pleasure. 

“We may find in the long run that tinned food is a deadlier weapon than the machine gun.” 

While tasty food might provide some fleeting happiness in difficult times, bad food is another form of oppression. The tinned food Orwell describes lacks nutritional value, and the only benefit it provides is that it is cheap and easy to store. Poor people are not able to access nutritious fresh food, so they are forced to rely on tinned goods. Orwell likens this to a war, suggesting that the lack of access to nutritional food harms and even kills poor people.

“The real ugliness of industrialism—an ugliness so frightful and so arresting that you are obliged, as it were, to come to terms with it.” 

The physical changes to England’s landscape are impossible to ignore. The giant, ugly slag heaps which now litter the English countryside are the products of industrialization. The process has caused a great deal of misery and suffering, leaving behind these giant physical reminders of the human pain the mines, factories, and other industries cause. Orwell believes that society can no longer look away; the slag heaps and the suffering they symbolize are so ugly, so frightful, and so massive that people must pay attention. 

“An ‘if’ which gets bigger and bigger.” 

Orwell here refers to the person who has a steady, decently-paid job in a safe, productive environment. The use of “if” is important, as all his phrasing is conditional, implying that these types of jobs are more and more rare. Orwell’s language emphasizes the increasingly perilous conditions of working-class life, where good jobs are no longer easy to find. 

“When I was fourteen or fifteen I was an odious little snob.” 

Orwell’s critiques of middle-class attitudes begin with his critiques of his own past. He recognizes that he was raised to hold certain attitudes and prejudices against working-class people, internalizing and propagating the class distinctions which he now seeks to eliminate. Looking back on this period, Orwell does not like the version of himself that he sees. He describes himself as an “odious little snob” to show his negative opinion of his previous views, but also to show that people are capable of change. Orwell wants people to abandon the views he once held and follow him on a journey of understanding. 

“We parted as guiltily as any adulterous couple.” 

The time Orwell spends in the imperial forces gives him a better insight into British culture. He comes to believe that everyone feels guilty about the horrors wrought in the name of the Empire, but that they feel powerless to change the world around them. This guilt extends to societal attitudes towards the working class. Everyone in Britain is aware of the suffering of the poor, so they convince themselves that the problem is not solvable. People willingly buy into mistruths and myths about the reality of working-class life, just as Orwell and his fellow imperialists bought into the lies about the empire. They prefer the comforting lies over the difficult, painful truths. 

“I had a cup of tea. It was a kind of baptism.” 

Orwell uses tea as a symbol of the potential to unite divided groups. Everyone in Britain, both rich and poor, drinks tea. Orwell might have his disagreements over the preparation or the etiquette of tea drinking, but the act of tea drinking itself is almost religious in its ability to bring people together. He compares a cup of tea in one working-class location to a baptism, suggesting that the beverage helped initiate him into a new way of life and a new perspective on the world. By sitting down and sharing tea with people, Orwell can understand them and see the world from their perspective. 

“But unfortunately you do not solve the class problem by making friends with tramps.”

Orwell’s descriptions of working-class communities stem from his experiences within them. He portrays the suffering of poor people in an effort to solve the problems in his society, but he is aware of the limitations of his methods. Making friends with poor people and describing their pain for middle-class audiences is a descriptive act; doing so can help people gain an understanding of reality, but it does not necessarily resolve anything. In the closing chapters of the book, Orwell therefore argues for proactive change, advocating for socialism to bring greater equality to society.

“The same streak of soggy half-baked insincerity runs through all ‘advanced’ opinion.” 

Orwell describes himself as a socialist, but he is not afraid to criticize other people who hold the same political beliefs. His main concern is to bring about a fairer, more equal society, and he views socialism as the best possible means by which this aim can be achieved. However, he worries that the insincerity of many socialists will limit their ability to achieve power and make changes. Many of these middle-class socialists (or working-class socialists who have become rich) do not actually want change. They are content loudly calling for revolution while secretly hoping that nothing happens, so that they can continue with their comfortable lives. Orwell sees these people as a genuine threat to socialism and describes them as a hindrance to any potential for progress. 

“It hardly needs pointing out that at this moment we are in a very serious mess.” 

After ten chapters, Orwell hopes that the problems society faces are evident. The descriptions of the working-class communities and the suffering of working-class people should, in his view, be enough to make every reader want to change society for the better. However, Orwell’s pessimism subtly shows through his choice of words. The issue “hardly needs pointing out” (95), but Orwell still feels the need to do so; the matter is so serious and so pressing that he does not want to leave anything to chance. 

“Every empty belly is an argument for socialism.”

Orwell’s belief in socialism is practical rather than ideological; his evidence for why it’s necessary comes from the world around him rather than any particular theory. He turns his argument for socialism into a more universal, ubiquitous call to arms, hoping that everyone in Britain will wake up to the need for change.

“It is a pity that Marxists nearly always concentrate on letting economic cats out of ideological bags.” 

Orwell is displeased by society’s failure to help poor people, but he is also annoyed by people who share his political beliefs—particularly the British socialists who seem unable to make compelling arguments as to why socialism is necessary. These people seem unable to grasp the pressing nature of the issue and incapable of explaining socialism or Marxism in simple, easy-to-understand terms. Orwell’s own common-sense treatment of socialism attempts to make up for these failures. 

“Their job is now to make Socialists as rapidly as possible.” 

Orwell’s view of Britain’s socialist future is somewhat restrained. He does not advocate a society-wide revolution, nor does he call for instant change. Instead, he asks socialists to try to convince those around them, creating more socialists who can then spread their beliefs themselves. This approach is an individual rather than a group effort. Orwell fears the growing popularity of fascism, so he wants to bring about socialism “as rapidly as possible” (115), but his method of doing so relies on converting people one at a time.