Getting Ready

Vocabulary

Sumptuous---adj. Of size or splendor suggesting great expense, lavish.
Neophyte---n. A recent convert, beginner, rookie, novice.
Proletariat----n. The class of industrial wage earners.
Dither----n. A state of agitation or indecision.
Penury---n. Extreme want or poverty, destitution.
Ineradicable---adj. That cannot be uprooted, eradicated, or erased.

Projects

  1. Do some spot interviews of low wageworkers. Ask them what the worst part of the job is and if there is anything they like about it.
  2. Write an essay about the conditions that Barbara Ehrenreich placed on her experiment. Do you think the conditions were reasonable? Do you think she was being too soft on herself? Is there anything that would make the experiment more realistic?
  3. Visit the author’s website at www.ehrenreich.com, and go to her blog. Enter your opinion about the failure of Congress to increase the minimum wage. Also blog about any experiences you have had with a bad boss. Write up your blog responses in a short paper with an appropriate introduction and conclusion and fully developed body parargraphs.