My Mother Never Worked

Comprehension

1. What kind of work did Martha Smith do while her children were growing up? List some of the
chores she performed.
Martha worked on the farm raising livestock, tending to crops, carried water, did
laundry by hand, sewed clothing for her children, cooked, and did housework. These tasks were
only a portion of the labor Martha performed over her lifetime.
2. Why aren't Martha Smith's survivors entitled to a death benefit when their mother dies?
Because Martha was not a "wage earner" and didn't work for an employer, her family is
not entitled by law to a death benefit through social security.
3. How does the government define work?
The government defines the work as what you do to earn your wages through checks
you receive from bank.

Purpose and audience

1. What point is the writer trying to make? Why do you suppose her thesis is never explicitly
stated?
The essay's thesis is that although Martha Smith did not work outside the home, the
work she did should be considered valuable enough to entitle her to Social Security benefits.
The thesis is never explicitly stated because the accumulation of concrete details argues the
author's point more forcefully than would direct statement.
2. This essay appeared in Ms. Magazine and other publications whose audiences are sympathetic
to feminist goals. Could it have appeared in a magazine whose audience had a more traditional
view of gender roles? Explain.
This essay might have found sympathetic audiences in other publications. For example,
had it appeared in a magazine aimed at homemakers, many of these readers, regardless of their
opinions about feminism, might have seen similarities between Martha Smith's story and their
own (or their mothers') situations.
3. Smith-Yackel mentions relatively little about her father in this essay. How can you account for
this?
She mentions little about her father because the thesis of the essay does not concern
him.
4. This essay was first published in 1975. Do you think it is dated, or do you think issues it raises are
still relevant today?
Students, depending on where they are from, may find the essay dated in that the rural
way of life described is less common now. The issue the author raises, however, remains the
same. A stay-at-home wife and mother is eligible for Social Security benefits only through her
wage-earning husband.

Style and Structure

 1. Is the essay's title effective? If so, why? If not, what alternate title can you suggest?
The title is effective because it introduces the irony that runs through the essay and is
summed up in the conclusion.
2. Smith-Yackel could have outlined her mother's life without framing it with the telephone
conversation. Why do you think she includes this frame?
The frame provides the bureaucratic definition of work, which is contrasted in the essay
with the meaning of work for the individual. It also establishes the contrast between the
impersonal efficiency of the present and the warm memories of the past. These contrasts
produce the irony that makes the essay so effective.
3. What strategies does Smith-Yackel use to indicate the passing of time in her narrative?
She uses transitional words and phrases that mention the season or month and the
year.
4. This narrative piles details one on top of another almost like a list. Why does the writer include
so many details?
The many specific, concrete details make it clear that the writer, unlike the Social
Security office, feels her mother did work.
5. In paragraphs 20 and 21, what is accomplished by the repetition of the word still?
This repetition adds to the enormity of Martha Smith's accomplishments by indicating
that she continued to work even after illness and old age had set in.

Vocabulary Projects

1. Define each of the following words as it is used in this selection.

a. Scrounge (13) : to borrow with no intention of repaying or returning
b. Shuck (13) : remove the covering of grains
c. Shock (13) : blow
d. Husk (13) : the outer covering of grains
e. Rutted (13) : a deeper track
f. Reclaimed (14) : recovered
g. Flax (14) : linseed (alas ko bot)
h. Fodder (16) : food, especially dried hay or straw, for cattle and other livestock
i. Intricate (20) : very complicated
j. Sustenance (21) : means of support
2. Try substituting equivalent words for those italicized in this sentence: "He wooed her thoroughly
and persistently by mail, and though she reciprocated all his feelings for her, she dreaded
marriage …. (11)." How do your substitutions change the sentence's meaning?
He wooed thoroughly and persistently by mail, and through she reciprocated all his
feelings for her, she dreaded marriage.
There are a number of different examples, which are both simpler and more modern in tone.
Smith-Yackel's choice of words fits the time in which the events occurred.
 3. Throughout her narrative, Smith-Yackel uses concrete, specific verbs. Review her choice of
verbs, particularly in paragraphs 13-24, and comment on how such verbs serve the essay's
purpose.
Smith-Yackel's use of concrete verbs clearly conveys the image of her mother that she
wants to project: she shows Mrs. Smith constantly in motion.

Journal Entry

 Do you believe that a homemaker who has never been a wage earner should be entitled to a
Social Security death benefit for her survivors? Explain your reasoning.
 Smith-Yackel discusses the rationale behind the injustices the finds in the America's
Social Security laws. The issue she raises in this text is whether Mrs. Smith really
"worked." This narrative can be examined in light of the today's women's conditions
around the world. We find our women's condition still the same. Hence, the essay
continues to be as relevant as yesterday. Those millions of homemakers who spend
their lives working at home whether raising their children, serving their husbands
doing farm works or scrubbing the floor, their work must be recognized and in its
return the government should make provision of giving them some rewards in the
form of Social Security benefits to their survivors. But most importantly, they should
be entitled to receive certain wages during their life time so that no one in the
society will feel excluded from the benefits. Hence, I do believe that a homemaker
who has never been a wages earner should be entitled to a Social Security death
benefit for her survivors.