Jacob Riis How the Other half Lives (1890) Analysis Essay

The book How the Other half Lives depicts the life experience of poor immigrants in America at the end of the 18^th century. The great issue affecting America at the end of the 19^th century is the conflict between change and tradition. Urban planning has been predominantly based on national concepts of design and planning, where British or American planners and architects especially have helped change existing areas as well as design new neighborhoods and cities. The book is divided into 25 chapters devoted to different problems and issues of urban life and problems of immigration.

Jacob Riis depicts that rapid development and destruction of the old have led to the loss of urban identity. Particularly within the last several decades of the 19^th century, land speculation and the lack of any coherent urban policies have led to unchecked growth and urban sprawl, resulting in the loss of thousands of acres of arable land and forests. The poverty that affects the urban poor is particularly felt by women, whose health and psyches are closely tied to their roles as wives and mothers¹. Hence, marital relations, childbearing, and other family, matters are central to their lives. Jacob Riis focuses in chapter 6 on the struggles of impoverished women in urban settings. “So are the toddling youngsters bow-legged half of them, and so are no end of mothers, present and prospective, some of them scarce yet in their teens. Those who are not in the street are hanging”². The author analyzes these issues in detail using case studies of almost different nationalities. Inhorn stresses the “reproductive double bind”, who may be blamed, stigmatized, and even divorced if they do not bear children – and who may similarly be punished for having too many. The poverty of the city exacerbates these problems, creating even greater stresses for the urban poor.

Violence, calamity, and fear have become part of the life of many urbanites. Wars between nations riots, and protests have all complicated life in the cities and compounded already pressing urban problems. Depending on the specific country, numbers ranging from dozens to hundreds of thousands of persons have died as the result of violent conflicts. The struggle for power and control of governments is one of the most prominent issues – and conflicts – facing America. The region’s political systems are anachronistic compared to those in much of the world, and the people want a greater voice in their destinies. In most cases, opposition to the government is led by specific groups, especially within cities and particularly in the national capitals³. Political ideologies, such as communism or Arab socialism, may provide the rationale for the opposition. Islamic – and more recently what has been termed Islamic fundamentalist – groups have led the opposition against specific governments. Most protests against the government – including its policies, police, and even military – are centered in urban areas. “The crowds and the common poverty are the bonds of sympathy between them”⁴. Poverty again plays a major role, for not everyone has equal access to doctors and adequate medical treatments. The environmental conditions of shantytowns and slums – open sewers (or broken and leaking sewer lines), lack of piped water, and prevalence of surface garbage – contribute to the spread of communicable diseases. Meager incomes and often large families mean inadequate food budgets, resulting in nutritional deficiencies and even malnutrition.

Jacob Riis underlines that overpopulation of slums and poverty manifest themselves most dramatically and visibly in the housing conditions of the cities in the small regions. Those unable to afford regular housing, or to purchase undeveloped land, congregate in illegal or squatter settlements (shantytowns), especially around the major metropolises. This change in appearance also represented real shifts in the identity of the occupants. Now, these included significant numbers of middle-level administrative workers and other regularly employed persons, and the income range of residents was much wider. Hence, by the 1980s inhabitants of illegal neighborhoods were often less marginal to urban society than their predecessors had been. Poverty is not usually associated with the oil-rich states of the Arabian Peninsula, although the condition of the vast numbers of foreign workers is often problematic. He stresses that this is an unstable social and economic situation, one with increasing differences⁵. Further, in an economy that is oil-based and dependent upon international forces, a sudden change for the worse could quickly transform comparative poverty into absolute poverty. As the “triggering mechanism” for dissension and riots, a critical political situation could suddenly turn explosive, creating major socio-economic problems as well as jeopardizing the existence of the state itself. Although urban medical facilities and services are almost always superior to those in the countryside, there are still major and often severe health problems in the urban areas⁶.

In sum, the book vividly depicts hardship and life troubles faced by immigrants in the USA. Overcrowded and dilapidated housing creating sanitary hazards, unsafe and insufficient water, and inadequate sewerage result in diminished health conditions. They show that children’s health and infant growth rates are affected by these conditions. They focus in detail on the problems of malnutrition among children.

Works Cited

Riis, J. How the Other half Lives Digireads.com, 2005.

Footnotes

1. Riis, J. How the Other half Lives (Digireads.com, 2005), 32.
2. Riis, J. How the Other half Lives (Digireads.com, 2005), 34.
3. Riis, J. How the Other half Lives (Digireads.com, 2005), 74.
4. Riis, J. How the Other half Lives (Digireads.com, 2005), 62.
5. Riis, J. How the Other half Lives (Digireads.com, 2005), 84.
6. Riis, J. How the Other half Lives (Digireads.com, 2005), 24.