History 248 Reading Guide
“How the Other Half Lives”
- Jacob A. Riis, How the Other Half Lives (1890).
Questions:
- Who was Jacob Riis? How did he envision his role as a reporter on the lower east side of New York?
- How do the photographs contribute to his report? To what extent do they distract your reading of his narrative?
- What do you make of the ethnic and cultural stereotypes that he articulates? What does he mean by “American” and “Americans”? What measures and standards did he apply to both native-born and immigrant residents of New York?
- Why did he write this report? What concerned him? What was the most indicting evaluation of his report? What solutions could he envision? (What limited his vision, and his solutions?)
- What can we learn about late nineteenth-century urban conditions, and the process of immigration, acculturation, assimilation from his account?
