American History

The article discusses the efforts of Jacob Riis, author of the book How the Other Half Lives, in exposing the realities existing in the Lower East Side of New York. More specifically, Riis enlightens the public about the unfortunate conditions that poor people have to live with. The article also highlights the use of photographs in advancing Riis advocacy to tell the world that there exists a totally different world from what is normally thought of in New York.

Having experienced this himself, Riis describes the kind of life that most immigrants have upon moving to New York (or any other city for that matter)  living in makeshift houses for their shelter, doing multiple, and sometimes odd, low-paying jobs, and having to literally work hard for every single meal. Riis first attempt to make these slum conditions known to the public is when he became a reporter for the New York Tribune. This, however, did not prove effective and sufficient to attain his objective. He decided to write the book instead to further his personal advocacy.

The article goes on to explain how Riis capitalized on the power of vivid images and photographs to clearly communicate to the public that there are people in these slum areas that are not living decent lives because of poverty, and are in dire need of help from the government and the rest of the general population.

I particularly liked the point Riis stressed in his book about the two kinds of slum dwellers  one who simply refuses to work and strive hard to improve his economic condition, and one who is willing to work but is still experiencing the effects of poverty. It could have been interesting to see in Riis book how many among the slum people he visited actually belong to the first and second classification. At any rate, the second type of poor are the ones that should be lifted out of their predicament because their perseverance clearly warrants them a better life.

On the other hand, I dont buy Riis idea of blaming greedy landlords, petty grafters, and corrupt officials for the plight of the poor. I believe that these evil people will always be present in any society, but it is up to the individual to decide on his or her own future. People should neither depend heavily on other peoples help nor fault them for not doing so. In the case of immigrants, for instance, it was their personal decision to leave their mother country to go to a foreign country in the hopes of having a better life. They were not forced to do this (except in cases of war, famine, and similar disasters) so they should not blame the government or their neighbors if they end up in a totally different life from what they dreamed of.

However, I do agree with Riis that having a solid family support is crucial to all people  poor or rich. A persons character is defined by how he or she was brought by his or her parents, the kind of values inculcated in him or her, as well as the environment in which he or she grew up. Thus, whether a person is living in a shanty or a mansion, he or she should always have a family to lean on. This, in turn, also benefits the society as a whole since a family is its most basic unit.

I also liked Riis strategy of using photographs to more clearly illustrate the kind of life existing within such a popular city as New York. I think his advocacy could not have taken off if not for this. It utilized peoples natural tendency to more positively respond to things they actually see than just hearing or reading stories about New York slums. Riis determination to make this known to the general public is, indeed, admirable, especially since he effectively did so almost single-handedly.