Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject Didactics - English -
Literature, Works, grade: 1,3, University of Tubingen, language:
English, abstract: In the following paper, the author examines the
debate if Riis was a Social Activist, who wanted to enhance the New York
slums in the late 19th century, or a Muckraker, who aspired to become
famous at any price. The primary source of this debate will be Jacob
Riis' most famous work "How the Other Half Lives". Moreover, this debate
will be developed in respect to both Riis' biography and "How the Other
Half Lives"'content, its structure, its language and its style in
general. Jacob August Riis "How the Other Half Lives - Studies among the
Tenements of New York" which was first published in 1890 is an early
work of photojournalism. It deals with the tenement and slum conditions
in New York in the late 19th century. "How the Other Half Lives" is a
documentation and not a fictional story. All 25 chapters report on
occurrences which the author has researched and experienced. Jacob Riis
uses numerous photographs, sketches and ground plans in each chapter to
visualize his words to the reader. Some photographs are recorded by the
author himself who makes use of new innovations. Riis' usage of the
flashlight was one of the newest and groundbreaking methods to take
pictures at the end of the 19th century. He intensely experimented with
flash and refined the work with his camera. Since Riis put a lot of
time, active work and effort in both the photography and the text
component, he was regarded as a Social Activist. Riis states that his
publication of photojournalism is based on changing and fighting against
the social injustice in New York by "providing for every man a clean and
comfortable home." In opposition to that, Riis was also regarded as a
Muckraker. A Muckraker looks "for information about people's private
lives that they do not wish to make public" (Oxford Dictionary) in order
to scandalize. Since he indeed unc
