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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to Wilkerson, what constituency does the Republican Party represent?
(a) Progressives and nativists.
(b) Those who want to protect an older social order that benefits whites.
(c) Humanitarians and the marginalized.
(d) People whose first concern is the sovereignty of the United States.

2. In Wilkerson's anecdote about the house inspector, how does he "see past the plaster" (17)?
(a) By using an infrared camera.
(b) By reading the blueprints.
(c) By using his professional experience.
(d) By using an x-ray machine.

3. In "The Third Pillar: Endogamy and the Control of Marriage and Mating," what does Wilkerson imply was the reason for the prosecution of Hugh Davis?
(a) The Black woman in the relationship was already married.
(b) Davis treated his Black partner as an equal.
(c) Very few white men had previously admitted to relationships with Black women.
(d) Davis raped a Black woman.

4. In "Pillar Number Five: Occupational Hierarchy: The Jatis and the Mudsill," what is the rhetorical purpose of including information about Hammond's nieces?
(a) It supports Wilkerson's point about the hypocrisy of the upper caste.
(b) It impeaches Hammond's character.
(c) It demonstrates the subordinate role of women in America.
(d) It clarifies the relationship of the Hammond quotes to Wilkerson's claims.

5. In "Pillar Number Five: Occupational Hierarchy: The Jatis and the Mudsill," what does Wilkerson say Blacks found when they migrated North during the Great Migration?
(a) The same sets of laws they were trying to escape in the South started to be enacted in the North.
(b) Although occupations were not closed to them by law, they were closed in practice.
(c) They were welcomed into trade unions, because larger union numbers benefited all workers.
(d) They were finally able to own property and begin creating family wealth.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "A Long-Running Play and the Emergence of Caste in America," what does Wilkerson say Americans want to dismiss as a "sad, dark chapter" of American history (43)?

2. In "The Vitals of History," what does Wilkerson compare an honest and rigorous study of history to?

3. In "A Long-Running Play and the Emergence of Caste in America," what does the Nigerian playwright tell Wilkerson about Blacks in Africa?

4. On page 68 of "Chapter Six: The Measure of Humanity," what does Wilkerson say is "one of the most contentious and misunderstood" words in American culture?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. In "The Hierarchy of Trace Amounts: Griffes, Marabons, and Sangmelees," what are the words "Griffes, Marabons, and Sangmelees," and what point do they illustrate?

2. What explanation does Wilkerson give of the origins of caste in Hindu scriptures in "Pillar Number One: Divine Will and the Laws of Nature"?

3. In "Pillar Number Six: Dehumanization and Stigma," what similarities does Wilkerson see between the treatment of Blacks in the time of slavery and Jews entering Nazi camps?

4. In "An America Untouchable," what is the purpose of the many examples of historical writings?

5. What is the rhetorical purpose of Wilkerson telling the story about the man who refuses to believe that she works for the New York Times?

6. In "Pillar Number Eight: Inherent Superiority versus Inherent Inferiority," what does Wilkerson say underlies each of the first seven "pillars" she has already described?

7. Explain the analogy that Wilkerson makes between caste and a play.

8. In "Pillar Number Two: Heritability," what difference does Wilkerson note between the way caste is inherited in India versus the way it was historically inherited in the U.S.?

9. Explain the relationship between Hammond's "Mudsill" speech and the economic uses of caste that Wilkerson describes in "Pillar Number Five: Occupational Hierarchy: The Jatis and the Mudsill."

10. For what reason does Wilkerson say that race is a social concept, not a biological one?

(see the answer keys)

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