# How the Other Half Lives — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for How the Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis.

- [Epigraph](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/epigraph.md): The epigraph presents James Russell Lowell's poem that critiques the hypocrisy of religious and societal leaders who, through their actions, have created suffering and poverty. It contrasts the opulence of the powerful w
- [Frontispiece](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/frontispiece.md): The frontispiece introduces Gotham Court, a notorious tenement building that symbolizes the squalid living conditions and social decay of New York's slums.
- [How the Other Half Lives](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/how-the-other-half-lives.md): This chapter introduces the squalid living conditions in New York's tenements, focusing on overcrowding, poverty, and the moral degradation of the urban poor. It describes the physical environment of the slums, the mixed
- [I: Genesis of the Tenement](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/i-genesis-of-the-tenement.md): This chapter traces the origin and evolution of the New York tenement, from the first 'rear house' built in former gardens to the overcrowded, disease-ridden barracks of the mid-19th century. It describes how the influx 
- [II: The Awakening](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/ii-the-awakening.md): This chapter describes the awakening of reform efforts in New York City following the Civil War, driven by fears of cholera and smallpox epidemics. It details the formation of the Board of Health, the Tenement-House Act 

> 26 more chapter companions — [open a free preview](https://www.betterreads.dev/reader?bookId=how_the_other_half_lives_se_28822kb&preview=1) to unlock the rest.

- [The Mixed Crowd](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/iii-the-mixed-crowd.md)
- [IV: The Downtown Back-Alleys](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/iv-the-downtown-back-alleys.md)
- [The Italian in New York](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/v-the-italian-in-new-york.md)
- [VI: The Bend](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/vi-the-bend.md)
- [VII: A Raid on the Stale-Beer Dives](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/vii-a-raid-on-the-stale-beer-dives.md)
- [VIII: The Cheap Lodging-Houses](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/viii-the-cheap-lodging-houses.md)
- [IX: Chinatown](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/ix-chinatown.md)
- [X: Jewtown](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/x-jewtown.md)
- [XI: The Sweaters of Jewtown](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/xi-the-sweaters-of-jewtown.md)
- [XII: The Bohemians—Tenement-House Cigarmaking](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/xii-the-bohemians-tenement-house-cigarmaking.md)
- [XIII: The Color Line in New York](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/xiii-the-color-line-in-new-york.md)
- [XIV: The Common Herd](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/xiv-the-common-herd.md)
- [XV: The Problem of the Children](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/xv-the-problem-of-the-children.md)
- [Waifs of the City’s Slums](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/xvi-waifs-of-the-city-s-slums.md)
- [The Street Arab](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/xvii-the-street-arab.md)
- [XVIII: The Reign of Rum](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/xviii-the-reign-of-rum.md)
- [XIX: The Harvest of Tares](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/xix-the-harvest-of-tares.md)
- [XX: The Working Girls of New York](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/xx-the-working-girls-of-new-york.md)
- [XXI: Pauperism in the Tenements](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/xxi-pauperism-in-the-tenements.md)
- [XXII: The Wrecks and the Waste](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/xxii-the-wrecks-and-the-waste.md)
- [The Man with the Knife](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/xxiii-the-man-with-the-knife.md)
- [XXIV: What Has Been Done](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/xxiv-what-has-been-done.md)
- [XXV: How the Case Stands](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/xxv-how-the-case-stands.md)
- [Appendix](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/appendix.md)
- [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/endnotes.md)
- [List of Illustrations](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/list-of-illustrations.md)

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters