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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 5: "Part Five: The Consequences of Caste".

Multiple Choice Questions

1. To what part of history does Wilkerson explicitly link the Electoral College?
(a) Slavery.
(b) Reconstruction.
(c) Colonization.
(d) The Jim Crow South.

2. In "Chapter Twenty-Two: The Stockholm Syndrome and the Survival of the Subordinate Class," when Devonte Hart and his foster siblings begged for food, what did their white guardians tell people?
(a) That the children had eating disorders.
(b) That the family was in trouble and needed donations.
(c) That the children were born addicted to drugs and were manipulative liars.
(d) That they suspected Devonte of stealing food from his foster siblings.

3. According to "Pillar Number Four: Purity versus Pollution," what makes the United States's racial hierarchy different from those in the rest of the Americas?
(a) Privileges that increase with increasing "degree of Whiteness."
(b) The degree of segregation.
(c) The size of the highest caste.
(d) Racial absolutism.

4. In "Chapter Twenty: The Inevitable Narcissism of Caste," what does Wilkerson say is the cause of phenomena like an Iranian immigrant feeling moved to point out the existence of a blond-haired child somewhere in the family?
(a) Each caste is trying to distance itself from the lowest caste.
(b) Immigrants know that this is what white people want to hear.
(c) Immigrants often arrive from countries with systemic racism of their own.
(d) Each caste wants to stress its proximity to the dominant caste.

5. On page 16, Wilkerson says that people adjust to the "idiosyncrasies" of an old house. What is she saying that they adjust to?
(a) Its peculiar or unique features.
(b) Its layout and design.
(c) Its negative qualities.
(d) Its positive qualities.

Short Answer Questions

1. As Wilkerson explains on page 9, under what circumstances can mental health professionals make a diagnosis public?

2. In "Pillar Number Six: Dehumanization and Stigma," Wilkerson explains that enslaved people were not allowed to cry as their families were separated. What is this meant to serve as an example of?

3. In "Chapter Twenty: The Inevitable Narcissism of Caste," what does Wilkerson say about whites who take time to consider the Black perspective?

4. In "Defining Purity and the Constancy of the Bottom Rung," what does Wilkerson note is referred to as "the most segregated hour in America" (128)?

5. In "Chapter Twelve: A Scapegoat to Bear the Sins of the World," what change in the concept of the scapegoat does Wilkerson say has occurred over time?

(see the answer key)

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