How the Other Half Lives

by Jacob A. Riis

How the Other Half Lives: Genre 1 key example

Genre
Explanation and Analysis:

Broadly speaking, How the Other Half Lives is an exposé: an experiment in photojournalism that sought to reveal the true breadth of human suffering in New York City's tenement housing community. As such, the book utilizes a hodgepodge of different styles, sharing characteristics of journalistic, scientific, and literary writing. All aspects of How the Other Half Lives work together to present a convincing argument to the American public in favor of charitable intervention in the tenements. These elements combine to place the text squarely in the genre of persuasive non-fiction.