Question

tremble with fear, like the fear of wild wolves. no — never again would i trust myself to an \american\ family, no matter how fine their language and how sweet their smile.
it was blotted out in me all trust in friendship from \americans.\ but the life in me still burned to live. the hope in me still craved to hope. in darkness, in dirt, in hunger and want, but only to live on!
there had been no end to my day — working for the \american\ family.
now rejecting false friendships with higher-ups in america, i turned back to the ghetto. i worked on a hard bench with my own kind on either side of me. i knew before i began what my wages were to be. i knew what my hours were to be. and i knew the feeling of the end of the day.
from the outside my second job seemed worse than the first. it was in a sweatshop of a delancey street basement, kept up by an old, wrinkled woman that looked like a black witch of greed. my work was sewing on buttons. while the morning was still dark i walked into a dark basement. and darkness met me when i turned out of the basement.
day after day, week after week, all the contact i got with america was handling dead buttons. the money i earned was hardly enough to pay for bread and rent. i didnt have a room to myself. i didnt even have a bed. i slept on a mattress on the floor in a rat hole of a room occupied by a dozen other immigrants. i was always hungry — oh, so hungry! the scant meals i could afford only sharpened my appetite for real food. but i felt myself better off than working in the \american\ family where i had three good meals a day and a bed to myself. with all the hunger and darkness of the sweat-shop, i had at least the evening to myself. and all night was mine. when all were asleep, i used to creep up on the roof of the tenement and talk out my heart in silence to the stars in the sky
guiding questions
question 7 of 14
which statement best describes the narrators second job?
a it is much harder and she regrets quitting her first job.
b it is much harder, but she feels more in control and free than before.
c it is much easier than her first because it has more structure to it.
d it is better for her health and she really enjoys it.

Explanation:

The narrator states the second job in the sweatshop seems worse externally, with harsh conditions, low pay, and poor living space. However, she notes she has control over her own time (evenings and nights to herself) and no longer deals with the false "American" family, making her feel better off than in the first job. Option A is wrong because she doesn't regret quitting; Option C is wrong as the job is harder, not easier; Option D is wrong as the job is bad for her health and she doesn't enjoy it.

Answer:

B. It is much harder, but she feels more in control and free than before.