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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. With what phrase did all of Mrs. Brooker's complaints end?

2. What does "back to back" mean?

3. When they had something to eat, what did the fillers consume?

4. What was the average size of one of the dwellings?

5. According to Mrs. Brooker, who was "at Canada?"

Short Essay Questions

1. What difference did Orwell see in the lives of the working class and the bourgeois that had to do with the humiliation suffered by many miners?

2. Why did Orwell believe that our civilization is founded on coal? How did he relate this belief to the coal miner?

3. Describe the meals Orwell was offered while living at the Brookers. Who cooked the meals? What were the boarders given to eat for dinner?

4. Who were the newspaper canvassers, and what were their jobs?

5. Orwell stated that the Brookers were typical of most people in the modern world. What characteristics did he point out as typical?

6. What did the miners look like when they emerged from the coal mines? What were some of the first things they did upon coming above ground?

7. What were the newer government (Corporation) houses like? What were the positive and negative aspects of the housing?

8. How did Orwell come to write "The Road to Wigan Pier?" When did he write the book? For whom? What were the three parts of the book when it was originally published?

9. What were the three terms Orwell used to describe the construction of the substandard housing in Wigan and Sheffield? How are they each affected by the lavatories available to them?

10. Who were some of the boarders at the Brooker's rooming house? How were thought of by the Brookers?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Orwell described in detail the house in which he stayed with the Brookers, and the houses he visited and reported on for his book. Discuss the housing conditions in Wigan, Sheffield and other towns in northern England in the 1930's. Why were things so deplorable? Who did Orwell believe was responsible for the living conditions of the working and unemployed poor?

Essay Topic 2

Orwell described the working class man and said "he does not act. He is acted upon." Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not? Use examples from the reading.

Essay Topic 3

The Means Test was a method of deciding benefit amounts for the unemployed. Discuss the Means Test, its affect on the unemployed worker, and on the greater community.

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