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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. Barbara notes that Wal-Mart is a __________ system and when one is working there, one forgets there is an outside world.

2. Barbara thinks the fact she is __________ will help her since she will not stand out from others.

3. The thing Barbara hates to clean most of all is _________ in the bathrooms of their customers.

4. _______ used in the bathroom are also going to be used in the kitchen, according to the instruction of The Maids.

5. What does Barbara accidentally shatter in her efforts to help Holly not have to work as hard?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the rate of pay that the Merry Maids claims to offer to those who work for them?

2. Why so the Maids think that the job they are offering is easy for someone to learn and to do?

3. What does the prissy women at the first Maids job Barbara is on do for her baby?

4. Why does the author decide to go to Maine for her next working assignment?

5. What does the author admit to doing which is making her a little nervous about the drug test she needs to take?

6. What comes in the emergency food package that Barbara eventually gets from the Community Emergency Assistance Program?

7. What are the workers in Portland, Maine expected to do as the wages seem to be falling between $6 and $7 an hour?

8. Describe what 'time theft' is according to Wal-Mart and its slick produced videos that the author watches during orientation.

9. What does Barbara decide about the entire hiring process after noticing she didn't even ask about salary at Menards?

10. What surprises Barbara about the cleaning method of The Maids, as described in the book?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discrimination seems to be a part of everyday society, it seems, at least from the perspective of the author.

Part 1: In what ways does discrimination affect the author's experience in this experiment?

Part 2: Why do you think the author focuses so much on race and on blending in when she is picking her jobs?

Part 3: In what ways are others around the author discriminated against? Or are they?

Essay Topic 2

It seems that most of the places where Barbara worked didn't want to give employees any time off or any breaks.

Part 1: Why do you think the places of employment were unwilling to give breaks to the workers?

Part 2: What do you think may have happened to morale and productivity if the employees had been allowed to take breaks?

Part 3: Why do you think breaks are necessary within the course of a working shift?

Essay Topic 3

The minimum wage workers are kept down and continue to be kept down in modern times. With this idea in mind, it seems that maybe there is a reason for the poverty level to exist.

Part 1: Why might there be a need for poverty level workers in the world?

Part 2: What might happen if the poverty level workers were not around to fill the positions they are in?

Part 3: Do you think it's realistic to have a goal of removing poverty and minimum wage workers completely? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 768 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample