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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Ehrenreich discover about her uniform when she is heading over to her second job?

2. What would Barbara use in order to document her daily experiences after her shifts were done for the day?

3. Barbara admits that at the end of the project, she did break down and ____________, stealthily, though, and never within hearing of management.

4. Barbara can not afford gas money because of the $30 she has to spend on a ___________ for her restaurant job.

5. Who is Barbara Ehrenreich's editor, the one who assigns her the story that became this book?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is surprising to Barbara about the many places to which she has applied for a job?

2. What does Barbara find out about Gail and what she has to do when her boyfriend suddenly dies?

3. What are some of the other reasons why Barbara doesn't really want to take on the assignment of working for minimum wage?

4. What kind of job does Barbara say that she will take, money-wise, at least at the start of the experiment?

5. What does the bad tempered cook like to do sometimes back in the kitchen, according to Barbara?

6. If things get too rough during this experiment, what does Barbara say she will do in order to feel herself or to support herself?

7. Once Barbara begins to let go of her elitist attitude, what does she realize about the workers around her?

8. What is the one thing that Barbara says she will not mention as she is applying and working during this experiment?

9. What will Barbara drive when she is a part of this experiment in working for minimum wage?

10. What does Barbara think, at the start of the experiment, will be the biggest challenge during this assignment?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When Barbara goes back and tells her coworkers what she was doing and who she is, the coworkers don't seem to have a reaction.

Part 1: Why do you think Barbara's coworkers didn't really notice Barbara as anyone different or special?

Part 2: Why do you think Barbara expected to be seen as different in some way?

Part 3: Were you surprised that the other coworkers didn't have a bigger reaction? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

The costs of housing seem to be higher than one might expect, even for the year in which the author attempted this study.

Part 1: Why do you think housing costs are so high for such horrible apartments?

Part 2: Why do you think society and the government doesn't seem to recognize how exorbitant the housing prices are?

Part 3: Do you think housing prices can ever be completely fair? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

One of the biggest beliefs the author holds about the way a person can better themselves in the world is that education can allow a person to do anything and to be something more.

Part 1: How does the author's educational level help her in the process of this project?

Part 2: Why do you think the other workers around the author don't realize she is more educated than them?

Part 3: Why do you think the author expected the others she worked with to notice her educational level? What does this say about the author?

(see the answer keys)

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