Article Review: How the Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis
Summary
Jacob Riis, a journalist who worked on social documentaries, worked to expose the sordid conditions of the poor quarters of New York City in his photojournalistic publication “How the Other Half Lives”. The title itself is a reference to the side of the city different to that known to the upper class, starting his narrative with the police raid on the stale-beer dives – joints where people from the lower class serve unlicensed and improvised beer that is potentially harmful to one’s health (Riis 118).
Riis joined the police stationed in Elizabeth Street in raiding stale-beer dives located within the Bend – an area notorious for its large population of tramps serving stale beer. Upon arrival, he described the place as one with a downtrodden atmosphere provided by decrepit structures and filthy surroundings. The police arrested the operators and all the other tramps from the dives in the place under the charge of vagrancy – one that could last them for six months in prison. Yet, there was uncertainty as to whether the arrested tramps will serve the entirety of their sentence in prison, as politicians are set to use them for votes during the elections, which was fast approaching by then (Riis 119).
Since the tramps are released from prison from time to time – hence the repeated raids conducted by the police, the Bend has been noted to have expanded to adjacent areas while remaining to be the headquarters of tramps whose main source of living is serving stale beer. The tramps are described as either lazy or unfortunate in terms of their income sources and are all led to the Bend to gather with fellows either to drink stale beer or stay for the night away from the lodging rooms provided by the police. Some tramps, classified as the “tough”, end up as thieves, which require them to come in large congregations and be courageous enough to defy and evade elements of the law in conducting their illegal activities. Collectively, all tramps think that it is the world – not through their hard work, that has to give them a decent living (Riis 120-122).
The next section of Riis’ narrative portrayed a man who became mad and started slashing people with a knife at Fifth Avenue due to his constant lamentations on hunger and poverty. The scenario turned towards an explanation of the ignorance of the well-to-do on the real meaning of poverty and its circumstances. Two solutions have arisen in the context of the discussion – violence and justice. Riis impressed on the need of the poor people to receive justice to alleviate their oppressed state, as he explained through his “rotten apple” metaphor. He noted that an apple, when rotten on the outside, could not become fresh and pristine from the inside. In saying that, he meant that a person must receive a dignified environment and better living conditions in order to become internally unspoiled (Riis 122-123).
Analysis and Commentary
Riis’ exposition of the impoverished side of New York City serves as an early example of displacement brought forth by the widening gap between the upper class and the lower class. He saw it as a debilitating problem that affected a significant part of the city’s population. At the same time, he lamented the way in which the well-to-do used the poor people for their self-interests – as in the case of votes during elections. By laying out those problems, he called on to the people to recognize the problem and take action for resolution.
The vivid photographic accounts of Riis on the impoverished side of the city have proved compelling to his cause to enlighten the people on the problem. Presenting as if the people were ignorant of the true state of the city’s poor quarters, he used his experience as a reporter for the police to gather his observations. The photos served as fitting testaments to his claims that the poor people need the attention of the people who could truly help them – primarily in their plight against material poverty.
Material poverty, in this case, has become the main thrust of Riis’ contention. His “rotten apple” metaphor stresses his point adequately – that an apple that has a rotten surface cannot be fresh deep inside. He argues from that point that for humans to express their dignified selves, they have to be dignified materially through the fulfillment of their basic needs. A noble income source, a decent residence, hygienic surroundings and unbridled access to food and other necessities are what humans need for them to become healthy enough to express their clean intentions. Squalor and denial of those needs could induce them to resort to undignified activities just for them to survive, as in the case of criminal activities and other deeds harmful to humans.
It is correct for Riis to assert that people should not be ignorant of poverty present in the city, amidst its wealth and glamor emphasized by its upper-class inhabitants. The well-to-do must do more than ignore the problem by helping the poor people alleviate their impoverished state. At the same time, they must not use the poor people as their means to gain personal ends. Overall, the poor people need to be dignified; the more fortunate ones should carry the responsibility to stop them from becoming rotten apples.
Works Cited
American Perspectives: Readings in American History Volume 1. 2nd ed. Ed. History Department Faculty at Houston Community College. London: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2003. Print.
