How The Other Half Lives Summary

n 1890, Jacob Riis published a groundbreaking booked titled “How the Other Half Lives.” Jacob Riis, a Danish immigrant, spent the majority of the 1880s collecting the information that would later go into his bestselling book. “How the Other Half Lives” provides a written and visual portrayal of the horrendous living conditions in many New York City slums. While the middle and upper classes lived considerably more comfortable lives, the people suffering through the horrid conditions in the aforementioned slums were often forgotten—their needs going unattended. “How the Other Half Lives” served as a form of muckraking—by exposing the conditions of New York City slums to the middle and upper classes, initiative was then taken to improve the health and living conditions for working class families. “How the Other Half Lives” serves as an explosive starting point for the reform of working and living conditions for the working class.
At the time, photojournalism was uncommon because of the complex process of taking pictures. In order to take a picture, one must carry bulky, awkward and heavy equipment. And in this case, the areas being photographed were often dark. So in order for there to be “flash photography” a small explosive must be set off in order to provide the “flash” needed for the photograph. Because of the complex procedure of taking photographs, photojournalism was rare at the time that “How the Other Half Lives” was published. For this reason, most members of the middle and upper classes had never seen a slum. For many, the photographs published by Riis were the first visual account of the horrid living conditions of slums. Because the photographs published in “How the Other Half Lives,” were the first visual account of slum life for many, the shock value of the book