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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 began to realize that the only thing that made her special and separate from others at her workplace was her lack of __________.

2. Barbara will give up completely on the project if it seems she will be ___________, if only for one night.

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

4. When the going gets too rough for Barbara, she admits she will use ____________ to get by.

5. What does Jerry's restaurant close off to employees since they don't want other employees lingering there during breaks?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. How much does Barbara think she will have to make in order to pay her rent and for food during her stay in Florida?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

It seems that the odds are against those who are in minimum wage jobs. From the costs of housing to the way these workers are often not paid well, it seems the cycle of poverty may never end.

Part 1: Why do you think minimum wage workers can not get ahead in their lives?

Part 2: Do you think outside influences are the main reasons why people can not lift themselves from poverty? Why or why not?

Part 3: Do you think society willfully creates conditions in which minimum wage workers can not succeed? Why or why not?

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

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?

(see the answer keys)

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