Think you’ve got your head wrapped around Kitchenette Building? Put your knowledge to
the test. Good luck — the Stickman is counting on you!
Q. Who were the majority of the tenants in kitchenette buildings?
Low-income African-American families
The Hiltons
Chinese immigrants
College students
Q. Why were the conditions of the kitchenettes so poor?
The tenants didn't really care about their homes.
The landlords charged high rents but disregarded the needs of the tenants and the buildings.
Rodent infestations in the 1930s were out of control.
The conditions weren't poor—that's just how things were in the 30s.
Q. Why didn't the tenants just move?
They didn't know any better.
They actually preferred the kitchenettes to other alternatives.
Because of unofficial segregation and housing discrimination, they had few options.
They wanted to keep up close relationships with their neighbors and feared if they moved to a home with private bathrooms and kitchens they'd never see them again.
Q. In stanza 2, what's in the hall that's stinking up the place?
Garbage
A dead rat
Dirty laundry
Fish carcasses
Q. What does the speaker of the poem hope to do in the final stanza?
Finally move out of the kitchenette.
Get a new job.
Leave Chicago.
Take a lukewarm shower.