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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 4: "Part Four: The Tentacles of Caste".

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which leading Black intellectual corresponded with Bhimrao Ambedkar about race in America?
(a) Thurgood Marshall.
(b) Booker T. Washington.
(c) William Monroe Trotter.
(d) W.E.B. Du Bois.

2. In "Chapter Fourteen: The Intrusion of Caste in Everyday Life," why does Wilkerson include the story of Corey Lewis and the children he was supervising?
(a) It is an example of white policing of Blacks doing ordinary everyday things.
(b) It is an example of police violence toward Black Americans.
(c) It is an example of Black parents trying to protect their sons from the dangers of being Black in America.
(d) It is an example of whites assuming they have the right to supervise Black children.

3. On page 15, Wilkerson says of the old house that "whatever is lurking will fester." What is especially apt about her choice of the word "fester"?
(a) Its sibilance is part of an alliterative pattern.
(b) It has meanings that can be applied to both literal structures and to abstract structures.
(c) It has a lighter and more comic "sound" than the synonyms Wilkerson might have chosen.
(d) Its connotations evoke the idea of a swamp or mire.

4. In "The Vitals of History," what does Wilkerson compare an honest and rigorous study of history to?
(a) An archaeologist uncovering artifacts.
(b) A doctor taking a patient history.
(c) A child learning a new language.
(d) A mechanic using a diagnostic computer.

5. What was decided at the conference depicted in the opening of "The Nazis and the Acceleration of Caste"?
(a) Forced sterilization of Jews.
(b) The Nuremberg Laws.
(c) The Lebensraum program.
(d) The plan to exterminate German Jews.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Chapter Six: The Measure of Humanity," where does Wilkerson say that the idea of race began?

2. In "A Long-Running Play and the Emergence of Caste in America," what does the Nigerian playwright tell Wilkerson about Blacks in Africa?

3. In "Chapter Fourteen: The Intrusion of Caste in Everyday Life," what figure of speech does Wilkerson use when she says that modern caste protocols "are like the wind" (212)?

4. Besides the caste systems in India and the United States, which other caste system does Wilkerson say that she will focus on?

5. Which of the following is the traditional Indian word for "caste"?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 419 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample