Want to learn the ideas in The Road To Wigan Pier better than ever? Read the world’s #1 book summary of The Road To Wigan Pier by George Orwell here.

Read a brief 1-Page Summary or watch video summaries curated by our expert team. Note: this book guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher or author, and we always encourage you to purchase and read the full book.

Video Summaries of The Road To Wigan Pier

We’ve scoured the Internet for the very best videos on The Road To Wigan Pier, from high-quality videos summaries to interviews or commentary by George Orwell.

1-Page Summary of The Road To Wigan Pier

Overall Summary

The Road to Wigan Pier is a book by George Orwell that describes his experiences in northern England. He spent three months there studying the area and its people, which he wrote about in this book.

The book begins with Orwell’s description of the house he rented from a family. The family was slightly better off than most people in that area, but even so, they lived in cramped conditions and had to share rooms with other lodgers who were poor. One roommate worked at a coal mine and injured himself on the job.

Orwell then examines the lives of coal miners in Wigan, a town dominated by coal mines. He visits one of the working mines and offers an account of what he saw there. The pay for these workers is assumed to be high, but Orwell explains that their base pay may seem generous because they are charged back on so many things.

George Orwell then talks about the living conditions of miners and how they have to live in unhealthy, crowded quarters. He also mentions that there are many programs to build affordable housing for them, but nothing has been done yet.

According to Orwell, the government’s unemployment statistics are not accurate. He estimates that there are actually two million people out of work in England, but the official number is only one and a half million. In addition, this statistic does not include wives or children who depend on their husbands for income. Therefore, it is likely that there are at least five or six million people suffering from unemployment or underemployment in England.

In the first half of this book, Orwell notes that miners and their families often have plenty of money to buy food, but they make poor dietary decisions because they’re usually in a bad mood. They eat unhealthy foods as a form of pleasure and are therefore often sick. In addition, Orwell describes the terrible conditions created by capitalism and industrialization in England.

In part 2 of the book, Orwell argues that socialism is good and explains why people aren’t socialist. He states that the terrible conditions he described in part 1 are not tolerable and that socialism would be very effective at improving those conditions. Then he asks a question: Why don’t more people embrace socialism?

George Orwell, a socialist and an avowed enemy of capitalism, argues that the opponents of socialism do not actually reject it because they are selfish or afraid for their position in society. Instead, Orwell argues that these people have distinct emotional reactions to the idea of socialism.

Orwell believes that class prejudice is a factor that holds back the socialist movement. He says that socialists should not ignore or pretend as if they do not exist, because it will alienate those who are oppressed by them.

Orwell blames the industrialization of the world for making people lazy and decadent. He says that fictional utopias run by machines are always incredibly boring.

Orwell then notes that many people who call themselves socialists are actually just cranks. These people include vegetarians and nudists, which make the socialist movement seem crazy to others. Also, intellectuals often use pompous language that makes them seem elitist.

Finally, Orwell argues that socialism should be sold on the basis of equality and fairness for all rather than complex political doctrines. He admits that he is an ardent socialist but has adopted an objective view in order to see what may be wrong with the philosophy from the other side.