Use the passage from Jacob Riis's How the Other Half Lives to answer the question.

Question

Use the passage from Jacob Riis's How the Other Half Lives to answer the question.

"With no steady hand to guide him, the boy takes naturally to idle ways. Caught in the street by the truant officer, or by the agents of the Children’s Societies, peddling, perhaps, or begging, to help out the family resources, he runs the risk of being sent to a reformatory, where contact with vicious boys older than himself soon develop the latent possibilities for evil that lie hidden in him. The city has no Truant Home in which to keep him, and all efforts of the children’s friends to enforce school attendance are paralyzed by this want. The risk of the reformatory is too great." – Jacob Riis

In a paragraph of 3–5 sentences, analyze what Riis is saying about the lives of young boys in New York City's slums.

Answer 1

In this passage, Riis is highlighting the precarious and challenging conditions that young boys in New York City's slums faced. The absence of guidance and stability in their lives pushes them towards idleness and potentially destructive behaviors. Riis suggests that these boys often engage in activities like peddling or begging to contribute to their family's income, which further exposes them to the risk of being caught by truant officers or Children's Societies. If they are caught, they face the possibility of being sent to a reformatory, where their contact with older, more delinquent boys could encourage and nurture their own latent tendencies towards mischief and wrongdoing. Overall, Riis emphasizes the lack of support and resources available to these young boys, making their circumstances even more challenging.