Jacob Riis How The Other Half Lives Analysis

In the passage “How the Other Half Lives” Jacob Riis makes a very accurate account of what life is like in tenements of New York City. He describes the challenges facing the mostly immigrant population that inhabited the slums and how the societal view was largely inaccurate. His observations however, are slightly marred by his own preconceived notions and prejudice. Riis gives what he believes to be the cause of the squalor and subsequent effect which was the then current state of affairs. He then ends his book with three primary options for a solution that are in theory very sound ideas. In “How the Other Half Lives” Jacob Riis begins with a pseudo-history lesson and then progresses into the statistics of the time. Riis explains how overcrowded these environments are and how despite this their populations continue to swell. [1] He explains that the desires of the tenants is to have their living quarters renovated and repaired [2], then goes on the explain the mentality of some of the landlords was primarily to simply collect rent from these people. [3]

Riis explains that the quality of living in these situations has exacerbated things like disease, referring to previous epidemics which in these slums hit much worse than sanitary neighborhoods. [4] Riis then creates a dreadful image for his audience in which this death comes

[16] Riis also has the unprecedented hostility toward the Chinese, his view of them is acknowledged by himself as rather harsh and their habit of sticking to their own tradition ran antithetical to his belief of converting them to “proper” Americans. [17] Riis then moves on to the Jews and while not as harsh as he is with the Asians he still believes that this habit of living in an enclave with those of similar ethnicities interferes with your transition to American as well as continuing to propagate stereotypes.