Jacob Riiss How the Other Half Lives - Research Paper Example

College: How the Other Half Lives Jacob Riis’s book "How the Other Half Lives", wrought the manner in which people viewed the gap between the rich and poor in the period between the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era. In the book, Riis describes the extent of society stratification in America and particularly in New York City. His vivid description of the deplorable living state of residents in the city’s tenements clearly demonstrates the pervasive nature of class division. The stories of these underprivileged nineteenth century families were shocking for upper and middle class families at the time, and they still spark a pang of sadness and concern close to a century and a half later. Riis, a Danish immigrant, photojournalist, police reporter and perhaps, most notably, a pioneer in the field of social reform presents the different accounts in a fascinating manner. This is primarily ascribable to the fact that he narrates the stories from an older immigrant’s perspective, infusing the experience with some level of identity and believability. From the onset, Riis singles out standardization of living quarters and unregulated immigration, as the principal factors contributing toward overpopulation, overcrowding and deterioration of living standards in nineteenth century New York City. This is clearly a notion with which one can identify; given the rampant immigration that characterizes the contemporary American society and results in congestion of diverse environs. Just like is the case in present day America, majority of immigrants during Riis’s time escaped their home countries in search for a better life in America. For example, the Jewish people were escaping persecution in European countries, Africans were running away from strife in their continent, while the Irish were seeking a peaceful environment away from their war torn country. Majority of other immigrants simply sought the rags to riches American dream. However, as Riis indicates, majority of these new immigrants were forced to start their lives from ground up, with many becoming disoriented and staying right where they began. Riis further takes note of the propensity of ethnic groups to stay together. As a result, they began claiming their own territories and isolating themselves from other ethnicities. Perhaps this exacerbated the poverty in such territorial factions. This is because isolation naturally impedes people from establishing productive relationships with other people. Further, the tendency to form clusters is likely to accentuate poverty, since such people do not venture out to create social connections with relatively well-off individuals. Riis clearly shows the detrimental effects of this territorial and ethnic mentality, as well as, living choice. For instance, the new immigrants joined their counterparts working in low-wage occupations. Consequently, they could only afford to pay for shelter close to their workplaces. The only option, therefore, was to live in the city’s housing tenements, which were continually subdivided to accommodate the ever increasing immigrants thus progressively becoming overcrowded. Riis emphasizes the dire state of this overpopulation and consequent overcrowding by taking note of the fact that, tenements tripled in number between 1869 and 1890 to reach an overwhelming 37,000 houses (Riis 204). To worsen the situation, blocks and houses were converted into barrack-like facilities to house extra people; a move that further led to deterioration of living conditions. It is emotionally distressing to learn that the living conditions, characterized by overcrowding and negligence by agents, landlords or even owners, led to an increase in the rate of mortality (Riis 11). Any disease that emerged posed the risk of entire population decimation, as it spread rapidly from one block to the next. These conditions clearly show what would happen if there are no regulatory bodies to govern construction, building management and other health considerations. After learning of the deplorable state in which people in tenement housing lived, citizens responded by launching campaigns and movements which led to the formation of a Board of Health. This department played a significant role in educating people about the essence of cleanliness. It was also responsible for recommending installation of ventilation systems and windows, slowly leading to declination of dark and disease prone rooms. Other propositions included assignment of caretakers to buildings in an attempt to keep the flats clean, as well as, banishment of back-end tenement-housing. Police also started playing a role in banishing tenements by expelling tenants during raids. These actions contributed immensely toward improvement of living conditions within New York City, adequately demonstrating that social reform advocacy is instrumental in societal change. Riis book not only serves its purpose of informing people of the class divide, but also inspires change for a better and inclusive society. Without adequate government support, publicity and relevant laws, the poor masses continue to suffer as the rich continue to prosper. One can discern from the book that, society comprised of people who wielded a mindset advocating for favorable existence of the wealthiest. The upper class during Riis’s era clearly cared less for the miserable conditions under which their counterparts on the extreme end of the spectrum lived. This is evident from the fact that they did not question these conditions, nor propose mitigation measures until the issue was highly publicized and could no longer be ignored. There are, perhaps, many who tended to argue that, if the epidemic suffered by the poor did not directly correlate with the living situation of the upper and middle classes, then there would be no need to wield any responsibility. Such a frame of mind is regressive and inhibits progress in society, causing an indefinite division of social classes and perpetuating hopelessness and depravity. Nonetheless, some rich philanthropists and social reformists paved way for improvement of living conditions, hence forming an example worth emulating for current and future generations. Riis further emphasizes the need for continued focus on ways to lessen or bridge the detrimental gap between the rich and poor in society. This is because, as he explicitly states "The world forgets easily, too easily, what it does not like to remember"(196). Even though living standards have improved in New York City and America at large since Riis’s era, social divides persist to date. Many people of poor status are still unable to improve their living conditions, hence the numerous homeless people on streets and existence of slum-like neighborhoods in modern cities. Conversely, upscale neighborhoods continue to develop, housing the upper and middle class individuals. It is imperative to acquire crucial lessons from early reformists like Riis, and call for betterment of living conditions for the underprivileged in society. Even though this may not necessarily bridge the gap between the affluent and the poor, it might at least guarantee that all American citizens are comfortable in their living environment and capable of maximizing their potential. Work Cited Riis, Jacob. How the Other Half Lives. New York: Penguin Group, 1997. Read More