How the Other Half Lives
An Analysis of How The Other Half Lives
The massive overcrowding in New York was epitomized by the tenements, which by 1880 housed over 600,000 people within 24,000. This awful statistic was one of many declared by Jacob Riis in his How The Other Half Lives. His work, influenced by other tenement reform advocates, synthesized the cause for reform together into this journal to convince those who were blind to the problem to want to also help. This essay will evaluate the methods and effectiveness of Riis's novel to convince the reader to be moved to help the overcrowding issue in New York.
Throughout the journal, Riis plays on the ideals of other reform groups to bring them into this cause.
The "problem of the children…makes one feel aghast," (p 135), because most people feel more compelled to help the future of their society. Riis capitalizes on this common morality. Of course, these children had no choice in their living situation. Of course, it was awful that their numbers were so high. Of course, people want to help. Most, however, don't know how to help, and here Riis was, providing an outlet. Thus, by harnessing human compassion, Riis's propaganda hit right on the mark. He also provided hope for the children, which makes people want to help even more: Even though the "thousand and one charities… one way or another reach the [children]," there is still a need for more. However, the "silver lining" is that "hearts and hands will be found to do it in ever-increasing measure." (all from page 146).
Women of the time were still struggling to gain more rights. Among these rights were equal pay and job opportunities. For the women stuck in low-wage jobs with next to no chance of improving their status, the tenements were cheap places to live. Riis uses the currently rising feminist movement to appeal for change in this aspect; however, more could be said about women's rights than changing the housing situation, one failure in his novel. Despite this failure, he
The massive overcrowding in New York was epitomized by the tenements, which by 1880 housed over 600,000 people within 24,000. This awful statistic was one of many declared by Jacob Riis in his How The Other Half Lives. His work, influenced by other tenement reform advocates, synthesized the cause for reform together into this journal to convince those who were blind to the problem to want to also help. This essay will evaluate the methods and effectiveness of Riis's novel to convince the reader to be moved to help the overcrowding issue in New York.
Throughout the journal, Riis plays on the ideals of other reform groups to bring them into this cause.
The "problem of the children…makes one feel aghast," (p 135), because most people feel more compelled to help the future of their society. Riis capitalizes on this common morality. Of course, these children had no choice in their living situation. Of course, it was awful that their numbers were so high. Of course, people want to help. Most, however, don't know how to help, and here Riis was, providing an outlet. Thus, by harnessing human compassion, Riis's propaganda hit right on the mark. He also provided hope for the children, which makes people want to help even more: Even though the "thousand and one charities… one way or another reach the [children]," there is still a need for more. However, the "silver lining" is that "hearts and hands will be found to do it in ever-increasing measure." (all from page 146).
Women of the time were still struggling to gain more rights. Among these rights were equal pay and job opportunities. For the women stuck in low-wage jobs with next to no chance of improving their status, the tenements were cheap places to live. Riis uses the currently rising feminist movement to appeal for change in this aspect; however, more could be said about women's rights than changing the housing situation, one failure in his novel. Despite this failure, he