How the Other Half Lives

Jacob Riis, a Danish immigrant, combined photography and journalism into a powerful statement of poverty in America. His 1890 work, How the Other Half Lives, shocked Americans with its raw depictions of urban slums. Here, he describes poverty in New York.

Does Jacob Riis view "the other half" with compassion, criticism, or both? How do you know?
What do you think Riis wanted to communicate to his audience?
What were Riis' values and beliefs?
What do these photographs tell you about life in cities at the turn of the century?

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