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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. 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) Very few white men had previously admitted to relationships with Black women.
(c) Davis treated his Black partner as an equal.
(d) Davis raped a Black woman.

2. In "Pillar Number Eight: Inherent Superiority versus Inherent Inferiority," what is the Louise Beavers anecdote meant to illustrate?
(a) That White filmmakers feared the audience reaction to an attractive Black woman.
(b) That it is impossible to judge intelligence and character based on skin color.
(c) That Black Americans have been made to assume the markers of inferiority like an actor playing a role.
(d) That Mary Pickford was concerned about being upstaged by a Black actress.

3. According to "Pillar Number Four: Purity versus Pollution," what makes the United States's racial hierarchy different from those in the rest of the Americas?
(a) Privileges that increase with increasing "degree of Whiteness."
(b) The degree of segregation.
(c) Racial absolutism.
(d) The size of the highest caste.

4. In "Pillar Number Six: Dehumanization and Stigma," Wilkerson explains that enslaved people were not allowed to cry as their families were separated. What is this meant to serve as an example of?
(a) Minstrelsy.
(b) Stigma.
(c) Dehumanization.
(d) Mockery.

5. 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)?
(a) The Colonial treatment of Blacks.
(b) The Trump presidency.
(c) Slavery.
(d) The Jim Crow era.

Short Answer Questions

1. 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?

2. In the page 15 sentence "An old house is its own kind of devotional, a dowager aunt with a story to be coaxed out of her," the idea that the house has a story to tell is an example of what literary technique?

3. To what part of history does Wilkerson explicitly link the Electoral College?

4. According to "The Trials of the Middle Castes: The Race to Get Under the White Tent," what caused the Supreme Court to rule that "White" means "Caucasian"?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the rhetorical purpose of including the anecdote about Willie James Howard in "Pillar Number Three: Endogamy and the Control of Marriage and Mating"?

2. 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."

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

5. Explain the titular analogy in "An Old House and an Infrared Light."

6. According to Wilkerson, how did slavery create the conditions for American stereotypes about Black people?

7. How does Wilkerson explain the differences between race and caste?

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

9. What explanation does Wilkerson give of the justification for slavery in Christian scriptures in "Pillar Number One: Divine Will and the Laws of Nature"?

10. According to Wilkerson, what relationship exists between immigration or transportation to America and "becoming" white or Black?

(see the answer keys)

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