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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 7: "Part Seven: Awakening" and "Epilogue: A World Without Caste".

Multiple Choice Questions

1. On page 364 of "Chapter Thirty: Shedding the Sacred Thread," to what does the Brahmin man compare his caste status?
(a) A "blindfold."
(b) A "fake crown."
(c) A "fortress."
(d) A "bit of smoke."

2. In "Chapter Twenty: The Inevitable Narcissism of Caste," whose work on collective narcissism does Wilkerson discuss?
(a) Erik Erikson.
(b) Jacques Lacan.
(c) Erich Fromm.
(d) Sigmund Freud.

3. 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) Each caste wants to stress its proximity to the dominant caste.
(c) Immigrants know that this is what white people want to hear.
(d) Immigrants often arrive from countries with systemic racism of their own.

4. In "Epilogue: A World Without Caste," how long does Wilkerson say that researchers think it will take Black families to accumulate the same level of wealth that white families already have?
(a) 115 years.
(b) 228 years.
(c) 15 years.
(d) 80 years.

5. In "Pillar Number Eight: Inherent Superiority versus Inherent Inferiority," what is Wilkerson's central claim?
(a) That American Blacks have historically been treated like animals.
(b) That Black Americans have had to learn an elaborate performance of inferiority.
(c) That even ordinary events like getting onto a bus reflect the premise that Blacks are inferior.
(d) That the caste system depends on all members of the lowest caste being treated as inferior to all members of the highest caste.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Chapter Fourteen: The Intrusion of Caste in Everyday Life," Wilkerson relays the story of a Black woman who visits a new white neighbor. What is the white neighbor's response?

2. In "Chapter Fourteen: The Intrusion of Caste in Everyday Life," what does Wilkerson compare to the modern phenomenon of whites calling the police on Blacks who are just going about ordinary everyday business?

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

4. In "Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Symbols of Caste," Wilkerson mentions two films that "fed the country and the world the Confederate version of the war" (335.) One is Birth of a Nation. What is the other?

5. What social trend does Wilkerson link to the 2016 election?

(see the answer key)

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