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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. At the ____________, the interviewer Barbara meets warns her about labor organizers, to avoid them.

2. Barbara states, "Someone ought to do the old-fashioned kind of ________ - you know, go out there and try it for themselves."

3. The manager, ________, yells at Barbara for a confused breakfast and a yuppie customer complains too.

4. Barbara makes the common that the ____________ is too low and that someone used to more should try to live with it.

5. Gail reveals that she had to live in _______ and pee into a plastic bottle after her boyfriend she lives with suddenly dies.

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What statement does the author make which leads to her getting the assignment to write this book?

3. How long a period of time will the author spend in each location?

4. What happens if Barbara thinks she will have to go homeless, even for one night during this experiment?

5. What do the managers do to Barbara when she is an employee at Hearthside, she realizes as she continues to work there?

6. What does the interviewer at a grocery store warn Barbara about when she puts in her application?

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The argument of responsibility is one that takes on a subtle tone in this manuscript. The author too seems to believe that if a person takes responsibility for themselves, they can do more and be more.

Part 1: Do you believe people stay in poverty because they lack an attitude of responsibility? Why or why not?

Part 2: Do you think people in poverty situations are aware of their situations? Why or why not?

Part 3: Why do you think some people in poverty don't take more responsibility for their situation or for their future?

Essay Topic 2

The working conditions in which you work might change you, according to Barbara.

Part 1: Why might the working conditions in which you are placed change the person you are?

Part 2: How do companies attempt to reshape and to mold the employees they have hired?

Part 3: What do you think happens when some people refuse to change for the job in which they have been hired? Why?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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