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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 doesn't even apply for ___________ since she knows she doesn't have the clothing for this type of work.

2. What are managers to think of themselves as when they are working at Wal-Mart?

3. Despite the miraculous vacuum cleaner, Lori and Pauline's __________ are ruined and wrecked.

4. Barbara notes she feels like a fugitive on this assignment, becoming obsessed with the few __________ she's brought along.

5. A look at the local free magazine reveals very little _________ Barbara can afford in the area where she is staying.

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is the second job that the author takes on in addition to the maid job in Maine?

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

4. What are the titles that Wal-Mart wants its employees to think of themselves as?

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

6. What is the one upside of the Twin Lakes apartment that compels Barbara to sign up for a lease there?

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

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

9. What does the long employment test at a Wal-Mart job fair seem to be trying to do?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many times, the workers Barbara is with seem resigned to the life in which they have been a part.

Part 1: Why do you think the workers Barbara meets don't really understand that things could be better?

Part 2: Why do you think the workers around Barbara don't know their rights and don't believe them when Barbara tells them what they should expect?

Part 3: Why do you think the workers aren't motivated to do more for themselves?

Essay Topic 2

The author herself is white and someone who is certainly in the middle class, even if she's not working as though she was.

Part 1: In what ways might her 'white-ness' have affected the way her experience turned out?

Part 2: In what ways might her experience have been different had she been a man?

Part 3: In what ways might her experience have been different had she been of a different class or race?

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)

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