Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

PART 1, CHAPTERS 1-10

Reading Check

1. What is Land’s curfew in the emergency shelter for unhoused people at the beginning of the narrative?

2. Which John Steinbeck book inspired Land to become a writer?

3. To what state did Land and her family move from Washington when she was seven years old?

4. Beyond what percentage of the applicant’s income does the TBRA program cover housing costs?

5. What is the name of the woman who runs the small, ill-organized cleaning service where Land finds her first job as a maid?

6. What are 2-3 examples of the nicknames that Land gives to the houses she cleans with Classic Clean?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. At the beginning of the narrative, what is an example of how Land tries to make the emergency shelter for unhoused people as cozy as possible for her and Mia?

2. How does Jamie react when Land tells him of her intention to move away to be with her father? How does Land take action?

3. What are the various forms of government aid that Land uses to sustain herself? What are some of the challenges that go along with maintaining this government aid?

4. What are Land’s initial impressions of Classic Clean?

5. How does Land’s first “move-out” clean, demonstrate the ironic conflict inherent in her plight to escape poverty?

6. What statement about the nature of poverty is conveyed by highlighting Land’s promising background in the early chapters of Maid?

Paired Resource

“Stephanie Land on Being a Maid and the American Dream”

• In this 7-minute video from Brut America, Land discusses the cruel ironies inherent in “the American Dream,” as she learned in her own experience with poverty.
• Land mentions the Psychological Costs of Poverty in this brief video and discusses how Motherhood in Poverty was particularly difficult.
• Do you agree with Land that there are ironic conflicts inherent within the traditional construct of “the American Dream”? What conflicts have you noticed, in your own experience?

“Author of ‘Maid’ Talks Book and New Netflix Show – New Day NW”

• KING 5 Seattle interviews Land in this 6-minute spot about her experience with poverty, as discussed in Maid and the fictionalized TV series based on her story.
• The interview touches upon many of the themes in the book: The Psychological Costs of Poverty, Motherhood in Poverty, and The Search for Home.
• Land discusses in this interview the importance of detaching dignity from work and attaching it to basic humanity instead. What might she mean by this, and do you agree?

PART 2, CHAPTERS 11-22

Reading Check

1. What is the rent per month for the apartment Land eventually finds in Mount Vernon after her breakup with Travis?

2. What contaminant in their studio apartment begins to cause Mia’s health problems?

3. A new client cancels his clean at the last minute. To what event does he offer to Land tickets as repayment? What is Stpehanie’s reaction?

4. Which home triggers Land to recall memories of her fight with Jamie?

5. After Land’s car accident, who provides the money so that she can buy a new Honda Civic?

6. What is the nickname that Land gives to the home occupied by a kind, elderly couple?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why can’t Land simply pick up extra cleaning shifts to make additional income?

2. How is Land’s relationship with Wendy different from her other housekeeping clients?

3. What does Land notice in “The Chef’s House” and the home of “The Cigarette Lady” that betrays their dark habits?

4. When Donna makes a disparaging remark about immigrants, why does this cause Land to worry?

5. How does Land’s busy schedule prevent her from thinking about her and Mia’s long-term futures?

6. Why does Land refuse precious family heirlooms from her grandfather?

Paired Resource

“The Cycle of Poverty and Its Traps That Keep You Poor”

• This US News and World Report article walks through the numerous “traps” that keep individuals locked in a cycle of poverty, in which they are never able to make ends meet.
• The frustration and pain that accompany the snare of a never-ending cycle are among the most problematic aspects of The Psychological Costs of Poverty.
• Which of these traps and cycles do you see reflected in Maid?

“Why the TANF Program Fails as a Safety Net for Single Mothers, Other Vulnerable Americans”

• 2022 marked the 25th anniversary of the federal program Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). In this 6-minute video, PBS News Hour interviews a representative from ProPublica, an organization that investigated the ways in which the program has been a failure.
• The ProPublica report focuses on how single mothers in particular were failed by the TANF program, adding dimension to how Motherhood in Poverty is exceptionally difficult.
• What was Land’s relationship to the TANF and other similar government aid programs? Did these programs fail her in similar ways?

PART 3, CHAPTERS 23-27

Reading Check

1. How much does Land receive on her tax return, thus inspiring her to revisit her dream of moving to Missoula?

2. After Land tells Henry about her longing to visit Missoula, what two gifts does he give?

3. With what organization does Land begin volunteering as a receptionist?

4. What does Land offer Kurt and Alice in exchange for discounted rent?

5. Whose home does Land clean on her last day of work with Classic Clean?

6. What is the main reason that Land takes a job helping a family of hoarders move from one house to another, even though they cannot afford her services?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. When Land takes Mia to the doctor for recurring respiratory issues related to black mold, the doctor tells Land to “do better” as a mother (Chapter 23). How does this moment connect to larger themes in the book?

2. How does Land compare her shortsightedness inherent in poverty to housecleaning?

3. How is it possible for does Land’s mother to help her see a way out of poverty?

4. Why does Alice “fire” Land from their work-trade/rent-reduction agreement?

5. When Land and Mia finally reach Missoula, what does Missoula come to symbolize? How does this contribute to the memoir’s ending?

Recommended Next Reads

A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn

• In this revisionist history, Howard Zinn tells America’s story from the perspective of its marginalized populations including women, factory workers, African Americans, Indigenous Americans, the working poor, and immigrant laborers.
• Zinn explores The Psychological Costs of Poverty and how “the American Dream” is misleading. Zinn shines a light on the difficulties that marginalized individuals like Land have faced since the birth of the nation.
• Maid’s narrative similarly tells the story of an “invisible” population (housekeepers) and defies stereotypes.
• A People’s History of the United States on SuperSummary

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich

• Inspired by the rhetoric of the late 1990s surrounding welfare reform, Nickel and Dimed was written by investigative journalist Barbara Ehrenreich, who decided to learn about the working poor first-hand by taking low wage jobs typically considered menial.
• In this narrative, Ehrenreich sets out to discover what animates the cycle of poverty in America, as these cycles take involve major Psychological Costs and The Linked Traumas of Poverty and Abuse.
• Nickel and Dimed, like Maid, provides an intimate look at the struggle to survive on low wage jobs.
• Nickel and Dimed on SuperSummary