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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 certainly does not want to do hard ________ labor when she is working at her new jobs.

2. Barbara asks the manager of her trailer park to donate her security deposit to ________.

3. Barbara is also not willing to make up a _____________ in order to pad her resume as she is going off to find jobs.

4. Barbara does not want to live a life of _________ or discomfort when it comes to this new assignment.

5. Barbara will take the ____________ paying minimum wage job she can find when she's off on assignment.

Short Essay Questions

1. Why doesn't Barbara think the physical exertion of her new job should be bothering her so much?

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

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

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

5. What is Barbara's fear about working in the area where she currently lives, Key West?

6. Why do people end up living with others or in conditions they don't want to live in, according to Barbara?

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

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

9. What will Barbara not rely on in order to get a job and to support herself, as one of the rules of her experiment?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

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

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?

(see the answer keys)

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