A Pickpocket s Tale Of New York - 1113 Words

A Pickpocket’s Tale gives an extraordinarily different view into New York’s underworld of the nineteenth century. The underworld of New York in the nineteenth century has usually been a topic described by clichà ©d explicit narratives of merciless urban gangsters and scary underworld stereotypes. Through his biography, A Pickpocket’s Tale, of New York’s nineteenth century underworld criminal George Appo, Timothy Gilfoyle transforms this unoriginal genre into something quite interesting. Gilfoyle provides his audience with an abundance of insight and a compound analysis of an actual human being of the nineteenth century. Gilfoyle uses Appo’s autobiography that he wrote before dying to bring forth a fully understood portrait of a skillful†¦show more content†¦The immigrants acquired Tuberculosis and many other deathly diseases. They did not have access to adequate medical care, adequate food, or good shelter. Wealth only spread amongst the r ich while the poor continued to stay poor. Although these immigrants had come to New York in hopes of having a better life, most of them were better off living in their home towns. The population of New York kept growing but there was nothing there for the people that guaranteed them or their children a better life than they had in their homelands. In essence, poverty often breeds crime. Desperate poor people would often resort to theft or violence to put food on the family table when the factory wages were not enough to keep the family running. Young children who dreaded a life of monotonous factory work sometimes roamed the streets by joining gangs. Evils such as gambling, prostitution, and alcoholism were widespread. Gambling triggered the hope of getting rich quickly. Prostitution provided additional income. Alcoholism provided a temporary escape. City police forces were often understaffed so the rich could easily buy themselves justice. This background of New York’s nine teenth century life provides a backbone to Appo’s story. As Gilfoyle analyzes, George Appo was born in 1856. Appo was the son of an Irish mother and a Chinese father in New York City. The readers are informed that nineteenth century New York was going through a downfall. New York was socially and economically