How the Other Half Lives Review Essay
How the other Half Lives is an informative book disusing the 1900’s. The author, Jacob A. Riis, counts people for the census. He saw many different aspects of life in New York City during this time. He shares some of the hidden relations of tenement housing. He discusses the many different ethnic groups and how they form group characteristics in distinct neighborhoods. Riis’s personal opinions of the value and power of these ethnic groups comes through in his writing. His ideas reflect some of the national ideas during this time period.
Blacks rank the lowest in society at this time. Riis credits this to natural selection. They are a race on the lowest level, defenseless against the woes of the landlords. Riis does not seem to hate the blacks, but accepts the fact that they are the lowest form of a person.
Riis places the Chinese right above the blacks.
