Independent ReadingAssignments

1. Create a list of fifteen study guide/reading questions to your book. The strength of these questions is dependent upon your ability to invite a reader to extend beyond a plot summary of the text and actually react to its contents. Consider the list on the back of this sheet as a guide as it pertained to Nickel and Dimed.

2. You will offer a personal critique/review of the book and offer evidence to support your position. I am not looking for your agreement that this is a good text. I want your honest assessment, but you must offer support. Ask yourself some questions before you begin or at least consider some suggestions for reviewing. The following list is taken from

  • Before you begin writing, make a few notes about the points you want to get across.
  • While you're writing, try thinking of your reader as a friend to whom you're telling a story.
  • Try to mention the name of the author and the book title in the first paragraph — there's nothing more frustrating than reading a review of a great book but not knowing who wrote it and what the title is!
  • If possible, use one paragraph for each point you want to make about the book. It's a good way to emphasize the importance of the point. You might want to list the main points in your notes before you begin.
  • Try to get the main theme of the book across in the beginning of your review. Your reader should know right away what he or she is getting into should they choose to read the book!
  • Think about whether the book is part of a genre. Does the book fit into a type like mystery, adventure, or romance? What aspects of the genre does it use?
  • What do you like or dislike about the book's writing style? Is it funny? Does it give you a sense of the place it's set? What is the author's/narrator's "voice" like?
  • Try using a few short quotes from the book to illustrate your points. This is not absolutely necessary, but it's a good way to give your reader a sense of the author's writing style.
  • Make sure your review explains how you feel about the book and why, not just what the book is about. A good review should express the reviewer's opinion and persuade the reader to share it, to read the book, or to avoid reading it.

Papers and questions are due November29th 30th. They should be typed and run through Turnitin.com. They will be listed as separate assignments for turnitin.com.

Study Guide:Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in North America

Summer Reading 2004-2005 (UNC-CH)

1. Early in her book Nickel and Dimed, author Barbara Ehrenreich admits that she has many advantages over "real" low-wage workers. What sets her apart from the average low-wage worker? In her desire to "experience poverty," what rules does she set for herself?

2. Minimum wage workers often report feeling invisible. Where do you encounter minimum wage workers? What sorts of services do they provide? Have you ever worked in a low-wage job? If so, what was your experience?

3. On page 27, Ehrenreich writes: "There are no secret economies that nourish the poor; on the contrary, there are a host of special costs." Describe some of these costs. How do the people in Nickel and Dimed deal with these costs?

4. Most of the low-income workers Ehrenreich encounters are women. Is there a connection between "women's work" and low wages? Explain some of the social and historical reasons for this situation.

5. The Poverty Guideline is issued each year by the Department of Health and Human Services. In 2004, HHS found that for a family of four to live above the poverty line, they had to earn $18,850. Describe life in your hometown for a family of four living just above the poverty line. Where would they live? Work? What would they eat? What daily challenges would they face?

6. Make a list privileges you experience as a person of your "class." Make a list of drawbacks. How would you characterize your relationship to the American Dream? Do your goals seem achievable?

7. As a reader, we get to know many of Ehrenreich's coworkers. Why does the author use personal narratives in Nickel and Dimed? Choose one person's story to examine. What about the story surprises you?

8. Ehrenreich reports at length about the sorts of physical ailments low-wage workers have to endure. What are they? How are they dealt with?

9. "It is common, among the nonpoor," writes Ehrenreich, "to think of poverty as a sustainable condition. They are `always with us.' What is harder for the nonpoor to see is poverty as acute distress," due to poor nutrition, homelessness and lack of affordable housing, injuries, and little to no health insurance. Ehrenreich argues that far from being sustainable, poverty is a "state of emergency." Do you agree?

10. In the "Evaluation" chapter of Nickel and Dimed, Ehrenreich discusses the personal and social challenges of "achieving a decent fit between income and expenses." What are some of these challenges? What solutions would you propose