Lab 4

Comparison of Dickens, Riis, and Mamusse wunneetupanatamwe

I chose the pair Charles Dickens, Sketches of Young Couples (1840) and Jacob A. Riis, How the Other Half Lives (1904) along with Mamusse wunneetupanatamwe Up-Biblium God naneeswe Nukkone Testament kah wonk VVusku Testament to compare and contrast.

Both Dickens and Riis are much more modern than Mamusse, and this shows in the font and style of the text.

Page 12 of Mamusse features 2 columns, in small font, with notes on the margins. Pages of Dickens and Riis, found here and here respectively, have one column and even paragraphs, with simple fonts and page numbers.

Surprisingly, all three books have a table of contents of sorts despite Mamusse being much older than the other two. Dickens’s and Riis’s found here and here, respectively. Mamusse has a table of contents on page 10

Dickens’s book is small, composed of multiple small stories, likely designed as a more casual read of the era, as books become more common and printing more normalized and influential. Riis’s larger, but still portable novel, shows a cultural change as stories / books become activities in it of themselves, without needing an immediate cultural purpose. This is the kind of book one would sit down and read part of during an afternoon as opposed to the more transit / small break style of Dickens.

On a completely different end of the spectrum, Mamusse appears to be a bible, and a decently sized one at that. Especially considering it is not written in English, this bible likely wasn’t intended for the average citizens’ use. Instead, it was likely housed by a priest / church / monastery.

As time went on, the use and quality of pictures also increased. Riis has photos represented in gray-scale as seen here, Dickens uses inkier, but still gray-scale, drawings as seen on the left here, and, lastly, Mamusse has no pictures themselves, instead opting for ornate lettering to add some flare to the pages and sections.

• While mostly likely due in part to advancing technology, the ever increasing quality and use of pictures is indicative of a cultural shift in how we produce and consume written / printed media. Pictures help show a story, and (especially in the case of Riis) connect with the subject matter. Not only can one imagine the scenes described, but they can also see a snapshot of the events. The more modern books aren’t meant to be presented, like a bible to a congregation, but read and enjoyed on one’s own.