Chapters 6 and 7 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 6 examines the eating habits of the working-class in Wigan, Sheffield, and the surrounding areas. Humans require food and everything else then follows. The availability of food shapes world politics, yet most people little consider the impact of food on a daily basis. Thus, Orwell argues, to fully understand the poor you must understand how they manage to get themselves fed. A few sample budgets are presented and critiqued. Orwell argues that a typical family of three might spend 16s. per week, or £41 6s. per annum, on food and cooking fuel. Food prices are examined, and Orwell concludes that it would theoretically be possible for the hypothetical family to survive, assuming they made only wise purchases of high-value food items. In fact, it would be possible for an adult male to subsist on as little as 4s. per week...