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Lesson 1 (from Chapter 1 | Chapter 2)

Objective

The setting is a ghetto-like neighborhood in Paris in the early twentieth century. The inhabitants are students, rag pickers, prostitutes, bricklayers, and stonemasons.

The aim of this lesson is to examine Paris ghetto life in the 1920's.

Lesson

1) Class discussion. What tone does Orwell set in the opening chapter? What does Orwell suggest the living conditions are like? How does Orwell suggest people relate to each other in the ghetto? What type of person do the students think the narrator has to be or become to cope with life in the ghetto? How do the students think ghetto life is different from life in richer parts of the city?

2) Ask the students to pick one of the characters mentioned in the opening chapter, for example the landlady, and write a 400-word description of his or her life in the ghetto.

3) Divide the students into pairs and...

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