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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Chapter Twenty-Two: The Stockholm Syndrome and the Survival of the Subordinate Class," Wilkerson relates the story of a white Brooklyn woman who called the police because of an alleged "sexual assault." How old was the Black person she told the police had assaulted her?
(a) 14.
(b) 60.
(c) 9.
(d) 70.

2. In "Chapter Twenty-Four: Cortisol, Telomeres, and the Lethality of Caste," which of the following groups does Wilkerson say tends to show more of the negative health impacts of prejudice?
(a) Male Mexican Americans.
(b) Middle-class Mexican Americans.
(c) Poor Mexican Americans.
(d) Female Mexican Americans.

3. In "Chapter Twenty-Four: Cortisol, Telomeres, and the Lethality of Caste," what does the Nigerian immigrant discover about living in America?
(a) As he becomes more Americanized, he suffers more from the prejudices aimed at Black Americans.
(b) As an outsider, he can see that the problem in America is caste, not class.
(c) As he becomes more Americanized, he realizes that he identifies more with white Americans than Black Americans.
(d) As an outsider, he can see that the problem in America is class, not race.

4. What conclusion about people does Wilkerson come to in In "Chapter Nineteen: The Euphoria of Hate"?
(a) Charismatic leaders are dangerous.
(b) Ordinary people are easily seduced by evil.
(c) People tend to want to distance themselves from even fairly recent evil acts.
(d) Most people have accurate beliefs about themselves and others.

5. 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?
(a) Whites deputized to police escaped slaves.
(b) Adults supervising a race of "children."
(c) Zookeepers reacting with fear to escaped "animals."
(d) Wardens in a prison.

6. In "Chapter Twenty: The Inevitable Narcissism of Caste," what does Wilkerson say about whites who take time to consider the Black perspective?
(a) They do not exist.
(b) They often refuse to act on their understanding.
(c) They are important allies.
(d) They are rare.

7. In "Chapter Twenty-Six: Turning Point and the Resurgence of Caste," Wilkerson uses the term "kitchen table appeals" (327). What kinds of appeals are these?
(a) Appeals to food-related issues like food safety, agricultural policy, and food scarcity.
(b) Appeals to women's concerns with reproductive freedom, physical safety, and equal rights.
(c) Appeals to everyday people's concerns with money, education, and health care.
(d) Appeals to caste-related concerns like immigration, voting rights, and affirmative action.

8. In "Chapter Twenty-Six: Turning Point and the Resurgence of Caste," what does Wilkerson tell Gwen Ifill she thinks is behind Trump's popularity?
(a) A rise in evangelicalism.
(b) Demographic shifts.
(c) Illegal immigration.
(d) Economic problems.

9. 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)?
(a) Personification.
(b) Understatement.
(c) Simile.
(d) Metaphor.

10. In "Chapter Twenty-Six: Turning Point and the Resurgence of Caste," Wilkerson says that when people vote, they often choose to vote in a way that will do what?
(a) Empower a candidate who appeals to their worst instincts.
(b) Consider the needs of the many instead of the needs of the few.
(c) Protect the best interests of their own highest-status trait.
(d) Show solidarity with those who share their lowest-status trait.

11. In "Chapter Twenty-Five: A Change in the Script," what error of John McCain's does Wilkerson say contributed to Obama's victory?
(a) He refusal to discuss his war record.
(b) His involvement in the 2008 financial crisis.
(c) His open appeals to Black and Mexican voters.
(d) His choice of a vice-presidential candidate.

12. 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?
(a) Modern scapegoats are not literally sacrificed.
(b) Scapegoating is now performed by whole communities.
(c) Scapegoating is now primarily subconscious.
(d) Modern scapegoats are also blamed for the problems they are made to suffer for.

13. In "Chapter Eleven: Dominant Group Status Threat and the Precarity of the Highest Rung," what does Wilkerson argue the lowest-status Whites have been given in the place of real security and opportunity?
(a) The illusion of racial superiority.
(b) Dominance over political systems.
(c) The possibility of climbing into the middle class.
(d) False promises about economic growth.

14. In the opening of "Chapter Twenty-Five: A Change in the Script," what does Wilkerson call "The greatest departure from the script of the American caste system" (311)?
(a) The toppling of the Confederate monuments.
(b) Reconstruction.
(c) The Voting Rights Act.
(d) The election of Barack Obama.

15. In "Chapter Twelve: A Scapegoat to Bear the Sins of the World," what does Wilkerson imply is true about the American response to the 2013 Ebola outbreak?
(a) That Americans withheld antiviral treatment from Africans.
(b) That it only became a priority once Americans became sick.
(c) That American aid was designed to confine the disease to Africa.
(d) That Americans did not care as long as it was confined to primarily Black communities.

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 Twenty-Seven: The Symbols of Caste," what does Wilkerson say was the true purpose behind erecting Confederate monuments?

3. In "Chapter Twenty-Two: The Stockholm Syndrome and the Survival of the Subordinate Class," Wilkerson says that marginalized people have to learn the "idiosyncrasies" of the ruling class. In this content, what is the best definition of "idiosyncrasy"?

4. In "Chapter Twenty-Five: A Change in the Script," what Lyndon Johnson prediction about Southern voters does Wilkerson relate?

5. In "Chapter Twenty-Four: Cortisol, Telomeres, and the Lethality of Caste," what are the "telomeres" Wilkerson talks about?

(see the answer keys)

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