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How the Other Half Lives

Riis and How the Other Half Lives

Jacob Riis, born May 3, 1849, was a Danish American who specialized in flash photography and writing journals on the tenements in the city of New York. Riis created the novel How the Other Half Lives after his attempt to publish his work depicting the squalor of the tenements failed, due to the graphic images shown.

Flash Photography

Using his flash photography to take his photos in the dark, Riis was able to capture a side of the tenements that was usually unable to be published: people of New York living in great suffering, with little to no furniture, weak flooring and walls, etc. Despite these terrible living conditions, adults and children alike worked hard to make and save money in any way possible.

Financial Burdens

All of this took place after the Reconstruction, so much of the town had already been destroyed. As Industrialization began, people living in poverty could not afford to fix up the city and many of them still had to live off of what they already got. The situation worsened as increase of immigration continued in America, leading to more and more people to add to the economic destruction with these families. Many had to share homes-those who didn’t were seen through the alleyways.

Focus

Riis focused on the life of the people who were living in poverty inside the tenements provided in New York. He created the title of the book with the quote, “One half of the world does not know how the other half lives,” by François Rabelais, in mind. This title explains the differences between both halves of New York: from rich, to low class, then gradually compares them to the middle and upper class. Riis uses his journals and photographs to portray the conditions of said people living in New York. Riis saw all of this and wondered what he needed to do to create change. He soon thought that when the public would see his photographs, the public would gain a better perspective of what was occurring in their own land.

The Trench in Potter's Field

Immigrants and Economic Degradation

Immigrants especially refuge in the tenements during the massive immigration through Ellis Island. However, due to the large influx of people immigrating to the United States, the tenement plan shortly failed. There was simply not enough room, resources, or economic stability for people, including children, to survive. Soon, many were unable to afford food and other basic necessities. This eventually led to the bigger problem of not being able to afford living in the already crowded tenements. The depraved poverty that spread throughout New York was the ultimate catalyst in the death toll. Immigrants were already faced with many challenges moving to the United States, on top of the economic state that they came to it in. This helped foreshadow the magnitude of deaths that would occur.

Poverty and Death

One of the many horrors that occurred in the tenements of New York were the trenches that were often found. These trenches were used as unmarked, mass graves for those who died in the tenements. Due to the massive amount of poverty suffered by those who were living in tenements, death occurred at a rapid rate, linking poverty and the trenches closely together. People were not able to afford anything; however, they were able to live inside the tenements. Death spread quickly, affecting people's lives at tenements, and ultimately, leading to their bodies being dumped in the trenches.

Analysis

The picture illustrates the depth in which the trenches were created in order to accommodate the body count-nearly three stories deep. Many of the bodies were stacked on top of one another, illustrating those who cannot afford and survive. Death was a matter of impact to housing towards the immigrants. There was nowhere else to get rid of the corpses once they die except for trenches, even if they pass away inside the tenements. The trenches were a symbol of not only the government and wealthy people’s contribution (or lack thereof) to the state New York was in, but the poverty that was suffered by the other half.

The Bend

Background

Consisted of three streets, Bayard, Orange, and Mulberry. These streets came together to form the infamous “Bend” that was photographed and documented 1896, by Jacob Riis. “The Bend” was a very poor and unkempt area located in the lower part of Manhattan, in New York City back in the 1800’s. “The Bend” was known for being one of the most corrupt and most dangerous areas in New York City.

Living in the Tenements

The streets were crowded with people living on top of each other in very small living spaces, crime rates were at an all time high, and food was scarce and rotten. This was a major issue that was not being tended to because according to Riis, the slums of New York City are for the weak. This was not entirely true because during this time the US was being over populated with immigrants and there was no space for them to live. This caused for major concern because along with the shortage of living space. There was a major shortage on food and supplies as well; people bartered what they had in exchange for spoiled vegetables and meats were distasteful and unappealing. People just coming into town were living on the street and in common areas. Alleyways were full of gangs and thieves openly committing crimes without any kind repercussions.

Riis' Impact

The more well off communities, however, did not care until Riis began publishing books and articles on the chaos taking place in these areas of the city. Riis urged that the entirety of wealthy communities should get involved and start rebuilding these areas because they were partly to blame for all the poverty being created on the other half. Riis released his book, How the Other Half Lives, showing how life was for the poor at that time. Riis described “the Bend” in his book as a culmination of the corruption, violence, and poverty that plagued this dangerous area. He urged that a reform needed to be made before situations got worse. Eventually the information provided by Riis eventually aided in having the most of Mulberry Bend was destroyed and turned into Mulberry Park in 1897.

A Flat in the Pauper Barracks

Poverty in Families

As Riis observed how the people were living in the tenement poverty, he realized most families were suffering. As the economy weakened, morale grew distant as hunger spread. Families worked as a unit in an attempt to create more revenue, though it didn’t help much. Children who were working to help the family earned a minimal $2.50 a week. Many people slaved during the New York summers in an attempt to gain more money, but it was all to no avail. Riis’s pictures showed the dire affects poverty had in the tenement camps.

Specific Cases

In one case, a mother whose family was suffering from the aforementioned poverty didn’t comprehend just how much that poverty would affect her. The woman ended up murdering her child in the middle of the night because it was crying out loud for food. Another grizzly example was a father who nearly killed his entire family due to the failure he felt in protecting them.

Civil Court

As Riis continued his work, his concern for the outcome of the civil court grew, and for good reason. Although the tenement voters stood up in order to save his expenses and to keep his rent, it was to no avail. This shows that many people who suffer in the tenement at least Riis has the consideration and hopes that this situation can be changed.