“The Standard of Living” Study Questions
1. This story was written in 1941 for The New Yorker magazine. Find a quote from the story that you feel reveals this time period.
I believe this quote helps to establish what time period this story is set in, “Annabel and Midge had been best friends almost from the day that Midge had found a job as stenographer with the firm that employed Annabel. By now Annabel, two years longer in the stenographic department, had worked up to the wages of eighteen dollars and fifty cents a week; Midge was still at sixteen dollars. Each girl lived at home with her family and paid half her salary to its support” (Parker 207). This quote tells of the wages of the time, which are obviously not from the modern day.
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Think about what the phrase, "The American Dream" means. (Do some research if you need to.) What subtle criticism of "The American Dream" might the opening paragraphs of the story suggest?
The criticism of “The American Dream” in the opening paragraphs is its tendency to cause discontentment amongst even the most gifted and prosperous of individuals. One always wishes for something outside of their reach.
10. How does the end of the story illustrate the infinite optimism of "The American Dream"?
The end illustrates infinite optimism in that Midge changes the parameters of the game. After learning of the price of the pearls, Midge asks Annabel, “‘Listen, Annabel,’ she said, ‘Look. Suppose there was this terribly rich person, see? You don't know this person, but this person has seen you somewhere and wants to do something for you. Well, it's a terribly old person, see? And so this person dies, just like going to sleep, and leaves you ten million dollars. Now, what would be the first thing you'd do?’” (Parker 211).
11. State something you learned about Dorothy Parker in her paragraph that precedes the story.
I learned that this story, “The Standard of Living”, did not receive critical success upon release, even though it was Dorothy Parker’s self-proclaimed