# How does How the Other Half Lives develop the theme of Exploitation and Greed?

> How the Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis

## 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

- [epigraph](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/epigraph.md): 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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/i-genesis-of-the-tenement.md): Landlords and middlemen prioritized profit over safety, charging high rents for dilapidated, unsafe spaces and ignoring tenant welfare.
- [iii-the-mixed-crowd](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/iii-the-mixed-crowd.md): Irish landlords exploit Italian tenants by charging exorbitant rents, reflecting the broader exploitation within the tenement system.
- [v-the-italian-in-new-york](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/v-the-italian-in-new-york.md): Highlights the padrone system and the greed of steamship agents and contractors who profit from Italian immigrants.
- [viii-the-cheap-lodging-houses](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/viii-the-cheap-lodging-houses.md): 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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/ix-chinatown.md): 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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/xi-the-sweaters-of-jewtown.md): 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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/xii-the-bohemians-tenement-house-cigarmaking.md): Landlord-employers exploit Bohemian tenants by charging exorbitant rents and paying starvation wages, creating a system of virtual serfdom.

## Links

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