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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Symbols of Caste," what peaceful demonstrator is deliberately run over and killed in Charlottesville, Virginia?
(a) Wesley Norris.
(b) Nigel Dunkley.
(c) Heather Heyer.
(d) Mitch Landrieu.

2. In "Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Symbols of Caste," whose statue causes the controversy in Charlottesville, Virginia?
(a) Jefferson Davis.
(b) Stonewall Jackson.
(c) Robert E. Lee.
(d) J.E.B. Stuart.

3. In "Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Symbols of Caste," what does Wilkerson describe at the site of the bunker where Hitler died?
(a) It is frequently the site of neo-Nazi rallies and demonstrations.
(b) There is a moving monument to concentration camp victims.
(c) A museum and educational center stands there now.
(d) It has been paved over and is used as an ordinary parking lot.

4. 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) The Voting Rights Act.
(c) The election of Barack Obama.
(d) Reconstruction.

5. In "Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Symbols of Caste," Wilkerson says that the tarp-covered statue looks like "a giant chifforobe" (334). What is a "chifforobe"?
(a) A battlefield tent used for meetings and planning.
(b) A short cape worn by Confederate officers.
(c) A hoop-skirt commonly worn in the 19th century.
(d) A wardrobe with drawers at the bottom.

6. 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 did not care as long as it was confined to primarily Black communities.
(b) That American aid was designed to confine the disease to Africa.
(c) That Americans withheld antiviral treatment from Africans.
(d) That it only became a priority once Americans became sick.

7. 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 were born addicted to drugs and were manipulative liars.
(b) That the family was in trouble and needed donations.
(c) That the children had eating disorders.
(d) That they suspected Devonte of stealing food from his foster siblings.

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

9. In "Chapter Ten: Central Miscasting," how many other people of African descent are at the London conference besides Wilkerson?
(a) The conference is primarily attended by Africans and African Americans.
(b) One.
(c) Dozens.
(d) None.

10. In "Chapter Twenty-One: The German Girl with the Dark, Wavy Hair," what point does Wilkerson make about the relationship of the loss of the Jewish population and the chapter's titular story?
(a) Once the Jews were gone, it became clear that the anxiety Germans felt had nothing to do with the Jews.
(b) The Jewish community had acted as a moderating force; in its absence, Germans began to turn on one another.
(c) The collective narcissism of Germans needed a new focus in the absence of the Jewish population.
(d) Once Jews were gone, Germans looked for other scapegoats.

11. In "Chapter Thirteen: The Insecure Alpha and the Purpose of an Underdog," what is Wilkerson arguing about the role of the "omega" wolf, at the bottom of the pack hierarchy?
(a) That humans should treat people at the bottom of the human "pack" with more kindness and respect.
(b) That since humans are not canines, it is not relevant to human societies.
(c) That it does not actually exist in natural wolf groupings.
(d) It performs a valuable and necessary role.

12. In "Chapter Twenty-Eight: Democracy on the Ballot," what term does Wilkerson introduce for the period between Reconstruction and WWII?
(a) Jim Crow.
(b) The Long Shadow.
(c) The Nadir.
(d) The Segregation Era.

13. In "Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Price We Pay for a Caste System," what does Wilkerson blame for the relatively low quality of life in the United States?
(a) Governmental dysfunction.
(b) The cost of suppressing Black talent.
(c) A two-tiered educational system.
(d) Rivalry based in a caste system.

14. In "Chapter Sixteen: Last Place Anxiety: Packed in a Flooding Basement," what kind of stratification within America's lowest caste does Wilkerson note?
(a) Stratification based on skin tone.
(b) Stratification based on gender.
(c) Stratification based on wealth.
(d) Stratification based on educational achievement.

15. According to "Chapter Twenty-Five: A Change in the Script," what percentage of White voters voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012?
(a) 38 and 23%, respectively.
(b) 32% each time.
(c) 43 and 39%, respectively.
(d) 45% each time.

Short Answer 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?

2. In "Chapter Twenty-Six: Turning Point and the Resurgence of Caste," whom does Wilkerson name as the most loyal voters of the Republican Party?

3. In "Chapter Twenty: The Inevitable Narcissism of Caste," what term does Wilkerson introduce that refers to a white person explaining to a Black person something that the Black person has better credentials to understand?

4. 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?

5. In "Chapter Eleven: Dominant Group Status Threat and the Precarity of the Highest Rung," which group of Americans does Wilkerson say is facing declining life expectancy?

(see the answer keys)

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