# Epigraph explained — How the Other Half Lives

> Chapter companion for How the Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis.

## What happens

The epigraph presents James Russell Lowell's poem that critiques the hypocrisy of religious and societal leaders who, through their actions, have created suffering and poverty. It contrasts the opulence of the powerful with the plight of the poor, and suggests that Christ identifies with the marginalized and exploited, rather than with the wealthy and self-righteous.

## Themes in this chapter

### Poverty and Inequality

The poem contrasts the wealth of the powerful with the suffering of the poor, highlighting systemic inequality.

### Exploitation and Greed

Criticizes the wealthy for building their fortunes on the backs of the poor, using religious imagery to underscore moral failure.

## Character check-ins

### Jesus Christ

Presented as the figure who identifies with the poor and marginalized, challenging the hypocrisy of the powerful.

### James Russell Lowell

Author of the quoted poem, critiquing societal and religious hypocrisy.

## Key lines

> With gates of silver and bars of gold Ye have fenced my sheep from their father’s fold; I have heard the dropping of their tears In heaven these eighteen hundred years.

You have used wealth to separate the poor from their rightful inheritance, and God has witnessed their suffering for centuries.

_The opening lines accuse the powerful of using riches to exclude the poor, with divine awareness of their plight._

> Then Christ sought out an artisan, A low-browed, stunted, haggard man, And a motherless girl, whose fingers thin Pushed from her faintly want and sin. These set he in the midst of them, And as they drew back their garment-hem, For fear of defilement, 'Lo, here,' said he, 'The images ye have made of me!'

Christ chooses a poor, suffering worker and a destitute orphan as representatives of himself, challenging those who recoil from them.

_The poem concludes with a powerful rebuke: the marginalized are the true images of Christ, not the wealthy._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters/epigraph
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/how_the_other_half_lives_se/chapters