How the Other Half Lives · Question
How does How the Other Half Lives develop the theme of Exploitation and Greed?
Answer
How the Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis develops Exploitation and Greed across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
The book condemns the greed of landlords, sweatshop owners, and corrupt politicians who profit from the suffering of the poor, calling it a 'Christian civilization' gone astray.
Criticizes the wealthy for building their fortunes on the backs of the poor, using religious imagery to underscore moral failure.
Landlords and middlemen prioritized profit over safety, charging high rents for dilapidated, unsafe spaces and ignoring tenant welfare.
Irish landlords exploit Italian tenants by charging exorbitant rents, reflecting the broader exploitation within the tenement system.
Evidence in the book
- Epigraph
Criticizes the wealthy for building their fortunes on the backs of the poor, using religious imagery to underscore moral failure.
- I: Genesis of the Tenement
Landlords and middlemen prioritized profit over safety, charging high rents for dilapidated, unsafe spaces and ignoring tenant welfare.
- The Mixed Crowd
Irish landlords exploit Italian tenants by charging exorbitant rents, reflecting the broader exploitation within the tenement system.
- The Italian in New York
Highlights the padrone system and the greed of steamship agents and contractors who profit from Italian immigrants.
- VIII: The Cheap Lodging-Houses
Political bosses and lodging-house owners exploit the poor for votes and profit, while figures like David Smith exploit children for personal gain.
- IX: Chinatown
The Chinese are shown exploiting women through opium and prostitution, with the Joss House combining worship and business in a practical manner.
- XI: The Sweaters of Jewtown
The sweater system is depicted as a chain of exploitation, from manufacturers to subcontractors, all driving workers to starvation wages.
- XII: The Bohemians—Tenement-House Cigarmaking
Landlord-employers exploit Bohemian tenants by charging exorbitant rents and paying starvation wages, creating a system of virtual serfdom.
