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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. On page 287 of "Chapter Twenty-Two: The Stockholm Syndrome and the Survival of the Subordinate Class," what does Wilkerson blame on "the latitude granted these white saviors...[and] the collective desire to solve tribal wounds with superficial gestures of grace from the wounded"?
(a) The 2015 Charleston church massacre.
(b) The shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson.
(c) The light sentence given to the white officer who shot a man who was just watching TV in his own apartment.
(d) The failure of society to see the truth of Devonte Hart's situation.

2. In "Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Price We Pay for a Caste System," what is the anecdote about physicist Lean Lederman intended to illustrate?
(a) White Americans are often unaware of the challenges faced by Black Americans.
(b) The United States devotes relatively few resources to the well-being of its citizens.
(c) Black Americans are still discriminated against by the health-care system.
(d) Even in modern times it is nearly impossible for Black scientists to achieve recognition for their work.

3. 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) Consider the needs of the many instead of the needs of the few.
(b) Show solidarity with those who share their lowest-status trait.
(c) Empower a candidate who appeals to their worst instincts.
(d) Protect the best interests of their own highest-status trait.

4. In "Chapter Twenty-Three: Shock Troops on the Borders of Hierarchy," Wilkerson explains a complicated "solution" to a problem presented by free Black passengers on steamboats of the nineeenth century. What was this problem?
(a) Where they would bathe and use the bathroom.
(b) At what times they would be allowed on deck.
(c) How and when to feed them.
(d) Where they would be allowed to sleep.

5. 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 class, not race.
(b) As he becomes more Americanized, he realizes that he identifies more with white Americans than Black Americans.
(c) As he becomes more Americanized, he suffers more from the prejudices aimed at Black Americans.
(d) As an outsider, he can see that the problem in America is caste, not class.

6. 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) Understatement.
(b) Simile.
(c) Metaphor.
(d) Personification.

7. 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) False promises about economic growth.
(b) The possibility of climbing into the middle class.
(c) The illusion of racial superiority.
(d) Dominance over political systems.

8. In "Chapter Twenty-Four: Cortisol, Telomeres, and the Lethality of Caste," what are the "telomeres" Wilkerson talks about?
(a) Stress hormones.
(b) The cell sites that respond to chemicals like cortisol.
(c) A part of the DNA strand that shortens with aging.
(d) Diseases related to stress.

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

10. 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?
(a) Brahmin-splaining.
(b) Boundary-blindness.
(c) Bulldozing.
(d) Whitesplaining.

11. 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) Reconstruction.
(b) The election of Barack Obama.
(c) The Voting Rights Act.
(d) The toppling of the Confederate monuments.

12. In the conference described in "Chapter Ten: Central Miscasting," what difficulty does Wilkerson face?
(a) The crowd is openly hostile to her presentation.
(b) Being stared at for sitting in front.
(c) The scholars in attendance refuse to speak to her.
(d) Getting copies of the papers being presented.

13. 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) 70.
(b) 14.
(c) 9.
(d) 60.

14. In "Chapter Twenty-Six: Turning Point and the Resurgence of Caste," what mistake does Wilkerson believe Democrats make with regard to their most loyal voters?
(a) Failing to think through the consequences of their "wish list."
(b) Making their concerns the central focus.
(c) Failing to follow through on promises made to them.
(d) Making their concerns a low priority.

15. In "Chapter Twenty: The Inevitable Narcissism of Caste," what is the rhetorical purpose of Wilkerson's anecdote about speaking with her colleague about the difficulty of managing her disabled mother's care?
(a) It offers the reader a humorous release of tension between two upsetting passages.
(b) It draws a parallel between the Indian and American systems that supports Wilkerson's general point that America has a caste system.
(c) It is an example of the distaste the dominant caste feels about being compared to members of the lowest caste.
(d) It establishes Wilkerson's credibility to discuss the topic of collective narcissism.

Short Answer Questions

1. 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?

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. What conclusion about people does Wilkerson come to in In "Chapter Nineteen: The Euphoria of Hate"?

4. In "Chapter Fifteen: The Urgent Necessity of a Bottom Rung," how did the incident at People's Grocery begin?

5. In "Chapter Twenty-Five: A Change in the Script," whom does Wilkerson quote as saying that there was nothing more important than making sure that Obama did not win a second election?

(see the answer keys)

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