Coney Island Primary Sources

I wish the entire book by Lilly Daché was included, as I would have loved to learn more about her background. When did she come to America? Why did she leave Paris? Did she intend to stay here forever? It was a great insight to how Coney Island affected the everyday person. She talked about how she knew that she knew she should not be doing what she was, but did not care. It gave her a chance to live her life she way she wanted to live it, not the way other people wanted her to live it. She said she “felt wicked but happy.” Is happiness worth it? Worth it to throw away everything? Go against your parents’ wishes and your values?

For someone who has given a lot a thought about what happiness is and what it means, even I don’t feel comfortable making this call. I know what it is like to be miserable all the time, but at least I stayed true to myself and what I believed. My dream is to know what pure happiness feels like, but I do not know if I could lose myself in the process. Such a hard decision. I would have avoided it completely.

Amusing the Million Part 2

There were so many things about Coney Island that attracted people from all over. It was the precursor to entertainment as we know it today. From someone who does not enjoy rides at carnivals, you have to admit that they are pretty cool. Imagine seeing a Ferris Wheel for the first time – right after it was invented. It must have been breath taking. Same with roller coasters. Something so dangerous, but that is where the thrill comes from. I wonder if I would have taken a leap of faith and gone on these rides, out of pure amazement.

However, the negative things of Coney Island might have outweighed the positive things. It promoted gambling, prostitution, and throwing away of the morals on which people were raised. Once again, I wonder if the entertainment was worth the risk. I love the pictures that the author added to this section of the book, comparing how Coney Island changed over the years. They were not posed, editorial pictures like those of Riis’, they were natural, spontaneous, and unexpected. They literally captured a moment of these people’s lives. The changes are so drastic, that it is amazing that it happened in such a short amount of time. Coney Island was truly a great power in this culture, showing the influence of entertainment on the masses. What would our world be like today if Coney Island had never existed? Would we still be living in the Victorian Era, or would something new just take its place?

Amusing the Million Part 1

Around the turn of the century, society tried to hold on to their Victorian morals, but the times changed too much and this would not be possible for very long. If I lived during this time, I would definitely be in the group trying to maintain the Victorian values. I try to maintain these even today. As the overall culture of New York, and thus America began to change, only the working class and the immigrants could maintain what they were raised on. As the technology of the times increased, new forms of entertainment began. My personal favorite of these entertainment contributions was the invention of the movie. Where would I be today if it were not for movies? And literature?

This new entertainment created a new type of culture, which led to Coney Island. The times called for something that had never been seen before, and an amusement park was just that. Coney Island was the Disney World of 1900, something so revolutionary that people flocked to experience it. Everyone wanted a taste of it. Would you have gone to Coney Island if you lived then? Would you have planned a family trip, or gone with friends? Would it change your values? Would you risk it?

Coney Island was revolutionary in that it provided entertainment for everyone. People of all ages and social classes and ethnic backgrounds could come and have fun. Everyone was blind to each other, as the goal was just to relax and have fun. The contribution that Coney Island made to American culture is amazing, but was it a positive or a negative one?

How the Other Half Lives - 3rd Reading

It is unfortunate that the law could only do so much to help the tenement problem. However, this had to be expected. The people need to do their part as well. Hence, why Riis wrote this book.

I am amazed that the law paid attention enough to make a significant contribution to changing the tenements. The fact that they even realized a problem in the first place. So often, those high up choose to ignore the troubles of others, much less those below them.

People need a place to live comfortably. This is such a simple fact that it is often overlooked. Although the tenements provide housing to those who cannot go anywhere else, it is just a house, not a home. A home is a place to go and relax, feel comfortable and safe, and just be you. My room is my go to place to feel comfortable. I could not imagine a life where I would not have that security. But that is how the people in the tenements lived. It only makes sense that they should be helped, as they are people too. “The causes that operate to obstruct efforts to better the lot of the tenement population are, in our day, largely found among the tenants themselves. This is true particularly of the poorest. They are shiftless, destructive, and stupid; in a word, they are what the tenements have made them.” These people do not have the money to help themselves, which is where the upper classes come in. Over time, the divide between the upper and lower class continues to grow. If the upper class helped the lower class, as should be their duty to society, culture could potentially level itself out. But who is to blame for this whole situation in the first place? The immigrants, the poor, the rich, the law? Is it possible to have prevented this in the first place?

How the Other Half Lives - 2nd Reading

These chapters in How the Other Half Lives details the lives of different ethnic groups living in the tenements. It covers the Chinese, Jewish, Bohemians, and Blacks. They created their own areas where they could continue living their own culture. Was this by choice, or was their no other way? Was it possible to break the racial barrier, or did they have no choice?

There are both pros and cons of living divided by ethnicity. They could maintain their own cultural traditions. There was no one to force them to westernize or Americanize, because they were surrounded by their own kind. This did not make it easy for them though. Where they lived did not help them gain respect of the “white society.” This certainly raised awareness that there were more than just poor white people living in the tenements. Why did Riis choose to dedicate separate chapters to this? And why the groups that he chose? What did he plan to accomplish from this?

The Mirror with a Memory

This article opens with the quote “Is a photograph true to nature itself, or is it possible to lie with a camera?” (203). It’s so thought provoking. Especially since the camera in Riis’ time required ten minutes to set up, he had time to pose the picture however he wanted to. Did he abuse this power for his advantage? Riis certainly had good intentions trying to reveal the lives of those living in the tenements, but did he use their lives to get further as a journalist?

Think about photographs today. When was the last photograph you saw that has not been edited on Photoshop? Where was this photograph? Probably not in a magazine. Or any sort of advertisement. Which poses the question: If photographs were left unedited, would anyone even pay attention to them? We are surrounded by lies from advertising companies all over the world, who believe that we will not buy their products if their photographs are not retouched. The sad thing is that they are probably right.

I do not understand why Riis hid his work as a photographer from his family. If he was truly a great photographer, as many people thought, was he not proud of his work? Why would be not share that pride with the ones he loved? Riis’ photojournalism was clearly very important to him, as he published a book on it, but it is sad to think that his family did not realize this passion of his because he never told them. Would you tell someone if you were truly passionate about something?

Introduction to the Tenements

“‘One half of the world does not know how the other half lives’” (1). I cannot stop thinking about how powerful this quote is. It is so simple, but means so much. What I took from this is that the people are always looking up. They watch the lives of people above them, but not of people below them. They have a sense of superiority, and will not lower themselves to even associate with those living worse than they are, even though people should be helping those less fortunate than themselves.

I think Jacob Riis’ book How the Other Half Lives really helped to alert the upper classes how the lower classes lived. They no longer could deny what was put into print. There was proof that there were many people living in tenements, which by no standards was an adequate place of living. “If Riis is known as one of America’s greatest writers of social reform, he is equally known as one of America’s important photographers” (vii). Riis’ choice of adding photography to his book helped his case tremendously. As most upper class people would not even think of visiting the tenements, they were still able to see what life was like through Riis’ pictures. If you lived in this time, would you have followed Riis’ book and helped?

“He not only substantiated his case against the tenements – with photographs duplicating conditions to the last wrinkle – but he also was among the first to show the power of photography as a journalistic weapon” (viii). Think about how much photography is a huge part of journalism today. Photographs are everywhere in our society today, thanks to the great advances of technology since Riis’ day. There are photographs on billboards, in magazines, on the internet. There is no escaping them. If Riis’ book had never been published, would the true power of photography ever be discovered?