Living conditions
There are two domains that Engels intends to analyze by way of imagery. He depicts the living conditions and working conditions of the working class. The living conditions are simply abominable. It is obvious that scarcity and frustration dominate the emotional lives of these over-populated and anxious communities. Work is not an option for these people, and without any socialized welfare programs, life is cut-throat and risky. Many people die in the urban slums, and Engels reports never having witnessed such pronounced poverty before.
Working conditions
The working conditions of urbanized factory workers in cities is even worse than their living conditions. There is very little by way of employee benefits because the model of companies with massive amounts of employees was still rather new. Instead, the working class is reduced to a kind of slavery which is simultaneously a comment on their worth as humans. The culture of the factories is consistently abusive, because employers always have new people applying for work.
Money and wealth
The imagery of money and wealth is scarce on the working class side and extravagant on the business-owner side. The wealth of the owners is unimaginable, because they are profiting on exploitative business practices. It is also a comment on human nature that a small oligarchy of business owners would willingly ignore the plight of their own employees en masse. This leads Engels to the conclusion that a modern government will have to do more to protect the working class.
The rapid changes of human experience
This writing is markedly defined by the newness of industrializing urban life. It is aesthetically unlike anything that the earth has seen before, like a stage of absolute evolution. The problem is that human nature does not change. Engels says there is an important schism growing between man and nature as they gradually forget the natural way of life in exchange for the new economic necessity: "Going to work and collecting a paycheck." The factories are themselves symbols for all the infinite and various ways that industry is expediting human economy. But, because of human nature, the rich people naturally restrict their employees to the bare minimum so that all that growth happens at their expense—literally.
