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

2. Barbara realizes she will need ____________ in order to pay for her apartment.

3. Barbara feels to truly replicate the experience of a minimum wage worker, she would need to have a few __________ in tow too.

4. At what publication does the editor who assigns the story to Barbara work?

5. What is Barbara's PhD in, according to her own admittance?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Barbara feel she is compelled to do with the patrons at Hearthside, where she works as a waitress?

2. When Stu says that drugs have been found at the restaurant, what do the employees speculate about this action?

3. Why does Barbara want to take on the assignment she actually suggested be done?

4. Describe the first apartment that Barbara finds when she is out looking for her first new 'home' for the assignment.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Barbara begins to recognize that her thinking is shifting when she becomes upset over the littlest things.

Part 1: Why do you think Barbara is beginning to get upset over the littlest things are her jobs?

Part 2: In what ways do some of the places of employment try to make the employees feel responsible for their work?

Part 3: Do you think it's healthy for an employee to become stressed out about the work they have done? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

It could be said that the author's own personal experiences are influencing the way she sees the situations around her.

Part 1: How does one's past affect the way they see the future, do you think?

Part 2: In what ways are the author's descriptions and experiences influenced by her education and her past experiences?

Part 3: Do you think the author could ever be completely objective? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

While at times it seems that coworkers band together to help each other out, at other times, they treat each other as though they were unaware of the other's existence.

Part 1: Why do you think coworkers band together at some points of a minimum wage job?

Part 2: Why do you think coworkers can also turn their backs on their coworkers so easily?

Part 3: Do you think the management tries to influence the bonds between coworkers? If so, why? If not, why not?

(see the answer keys)

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