Analysis Of Jacob Riis 'How The Other Half Lives'

From 1993 to 1996, The United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda was commissioned when a peace treaty signed by the two tribes – The Hutus and Tutsis. Under the supervision of Romeo Dallaire when the peace broke lose. The next few months were “hell” as slain government officials, innocent Tutsis and Hutus laid on the streets in this massive genocide. In “Shattered” by Eric Walters we are introduced to a former soldier from the civil war in Rwanda named Jacques. Jacques was born and raised in the Canadian army as his father and grandfather were soldiers too. He was trained in the Special Ops Unit that he could withstand unarmed combat. Jacques served in Yugoslavia, Haiti, the Middle East twice wearing the blue beret of The United Nation

Jacob Riis’ book How the Other Half Lives is a detailed description on the poor and the destitute in the inner realms of New York City. Riis tries to portray the living conditions through the ‘eyes’ of his camera. He sneaks up on the people flashes a picture and then tells the rest of the city how the ‘other half’ is living. As shocking as the truth was without seeing such poverty and horrible conditions with their own eyes or taking in the experience with all their senses it still seemed like a million miles away or even just a fairy tale.

Snow covered cobbled streets, lined with lanterns and lamps of unique design. Inside brewery, in an intersection called Five Points housed people of all different diversities. Black, German, Irish even pure American, were huddled together in this dark and dingy brewery where light barely reaches it except through the very windows it holds. This was what the beginning scene would look like in a movie. A specific movie called Gangs of New York directed by Martin Scorsese. The movie in comparison to the “Gangs of New York, Excerpt” by Herbert Asbury, “Five Points” by Tyler Anbinder, and “A Pickpockets Tale” by Timothy Gilfoyle, were similar in some ways but each had their differences. Yet, to compare and contrast which

The book Black Hearts opened my eyes to how leadership from a single Officer can have a grappling effect on such a wide range of soldiers from the lowest of ranks. One of the best takeaways from Black Hearts is to never do anything: illegal, unethical, or immoral. Although this is a easy statement to repeat, Black Hearts demonstrates the difficulties that lie behind these words. It has also painted a picture of how leadership can topple extremely quickly from a top down view. The Army is portrayed in a bad light throughout the book relentlessly. This is due to the concentration of poor leadership of the 1-502nd Regiment (Referred to as “First Strike”), a battalion of the 101st Airborne Division.

The portrayal of Jacob Riis’ views through his book ‘How the Other Half Lives,’ is conveyed by storytelling and is largely made of logos, however the key component is actually ethos, like a politician running a campaign, Jacob Riis’s uses logos and pathos to create a persona of authority on the topic of the poor in New York City. I am going to look in depth on how Riis uses different approaches to convey his views to his audience: why does do some of Riis’ key texts contradict each other? Is he conscious of if? Is it brilliant?

The US is appealing in the eyes of other countries, and even ourselves, because of the “free” and “equal” characteristics we claim ourselves to have, such as: freedom of religion, freedom to own private property, and freedom of equal justice. However, in the eyes of an African America, Atlantic Monthly Journalist, we see that all of these freedoms find a loophole when it comes to the black community. In Ta-Nehisi Coates’ book Between the World and Me, he writes from a political, yet deeply personal standpoint to analyze today’s version of racism. Coates strays away from his usual journalist works to a more deeper and personal view. His book is devoted to his fifteen-year-old son, Samori, and provides him with guidance through the struggle of racism; all while letting Samori fend for himself. Coates’ lets his son know all this through history, and heritage; of his own and of America’s.

Immigrants coming over from Europe had not a dime to spare but a heart filled with ambition. In The Jungle, the Chicago stockyards saw its share of discrimination. Immigrants in particular, always having the short end of the stick, faced countless difficulties. Many saw them as ignorant, unsophisticated beings that could only be used for mule labor. They endure agonizing work because they are immigrants and according to the Americans living there, they were below them. They earn wages so low it became difficult not to starve. Jurgis describes the difficulties that came with the intense work. He stated “If one of them be a minute late, he will be docked an hour's pay, and if he be many minutes late, he will be apt to find his brass check turned to the wall, which will send him out to join the hungry mob that waits every morning at the gates of the houses, from six o'clock until nearly half-past eight" (Sinclair 21). If they came late then they were fired. There were no second chances. The managers treat these immigrants not as humans but animals. Immigrants were allowed no sick days and if they were to get injured they would be fired as well, which was not the case for Americans who had been there longer. The injustice done was unbearable and they had to deal with it because they needed any money they could get. There dreams of a life of ease and welfare were crushed by prejudice views. Discrimination based on social class is also seen in The Great Gatsby. What connects Long Island to the bustling city of New York is what Fitzgerald calls the Valley of Ashes. Here is where the poor and penniless men work and live. Just like the immigrants, these lower class people have a much harder path at achieving their American Dream. The Valley of Ashes was where “.. ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys

Why does Holden continuously judge people based on their physical appearance? Could this be a projection of his insecurities or a reflection of his mental health?

Jacob Riis' book How the Other Half Lives is a detailed description on the poor and the destitute in the inner realms of New York City. Riis tries to portray the living conditions through the ‘eyes' of his camera. He sneaks up on the people flashes a picture and then tells the rest of the city how the ‘other half' is living. As shocking as the truth was without seeing such poverty and horrible conditions with their own eyes or taking in the experience with all their senses it still seemed like a million miles away or even just a fairy tale.

The topics “Can You Use that Word in a Sentence,” and Racial Representation is significant throughout the book Long Division written by Kiese Laymon. The characters in this book will have to face racism and learn to defy racial representations, especially during the scene of the quiz contest. Overall, this essay will tackle the importance of language in the book Long Division and analyze the actions of the characters and the emotions they display. This essay will examine the words written and the racism experienced during the period using the two sources and research made to understand the importance of language in racism. Long Division, the book written by Kiese Laymon is an intriguing and gripping novel. It starts off with the main character Citoyen “City” Coldson a fourteen year-old boy; he participates in a nationwide televised quiz contest. However noticing that the contest is extremely racist, his outburst on stage goes viral. Shortly, City moves to live with his grandmother. He’s been given a book, before leaving, titled “Long Division”. The main character of the book has the same name as City yet it is set in 1985. A young girl named Baize Shephard has been missing in City’s new community. Yet, when Baize Shephard appears as a character in City’s strange book, both stories link and converge together. Citoyen “City” Coldson and LaVander Peeler are the only two black participants in the “Can You Use that Word in a Sentence” contest. There were many scenes that

Upon earning employment as a reporter in 1873, Jacob Riis intended to expose the deplorable living conditions within the slums of New York city as well as the police department shelters that he himself had to stay in. The living conditions in the slums were terrible for the tenants, as the tenements were dark with poor air quality, overcrowded, unsanitary, and filled with crime and illnesses. At the time, most of the residents in the slums were immigrants and there were no sanitary laws to regulate housing conditions. By contrast, Lewis Hine became a photographer for the National Child Labor Committee in 1908 to advocate for reform and child labor laws. During the time, society had become industrialized and children were expected to work to support their families. These child laborers were overworked, not payed well, and did not receive education because it was not mandated. Hine took photographs of child laborers and factory workers in order to communicate the exploitation that these workers were enduring

In “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D Salinger, Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old boy who has recently expelled from school, had lost his younger brother to Leukemia and witnessed the suicide of one of his peers, struggles in his journey of coming of age. He isn’t fond of the idea of having to mature and be exposed to responsibilities and problems of the real world. As a result, he tries to preserve the innocence of his younger sister, Phoebe. One way in which he aims to accomplish this goal is through a Little Shirley Beans record which he buys in hopes of giving it to Phoebe. Salinger utilizes the symbol of the broken record to develop Holden’s loss of innocence and deteriorating character.

In todays world we are compulsive complainers. We complain about our jobs, our home life, that we don’t get to sleep in all day, and for college students we complain about having to write papers. As humans we do this on a daily basis. We don’t take into consideration of how good most of us actually have it in life. In the late 1800's this county was taking place in the industrial revolution. In the book "How the Other half Lives" by Jacob Riis it shows the lives of poor immigrants that have come over to American from mostly European countries to try to get a fresh start on a new land. What these people did not know is how they would have to live. Riis wanted people to see what was really going on in the live of many immigrants during this time in New York. Most immigrants didn’t have much money to start with, they had to live in tenants with several other families in one twelve by twelve room. Conditions for these places were absolutely unbearable, dark hallways, foul air, rat infestations, disease ridden just to begin with.

How the Other Half Lives: Studies among the Tenements of New York (1890) was an early publication of photojournalism by Jacob Riis, documenting squalid living conditions in New York City slums in the 1880s. It served as a basis for future "muckraking" journalism by exposing the slums to New York City’s upper and middle classes. This work inspired many reforms of working-class housing, both immediately after publication as well as making a lasting impact in today's society. Vivid imagery and complex syntax establish a sympathetic tone which Riis uses to expose poverty to the general public and calls upon them to take action and make a difference.

Chapter one in the book Constructing a life Philosophy shows a variety of opinions on life philosophies. From what I understood from reading all four of the views was that they believe it wise for people to be flexible in the way we live our lives. I would like to discuss further what each of them had to say.