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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 "Chapter Five: 'The Container We Have Built for You,'" what unusual name does Harold Hale give his daughter?
(a) White.
(b) Miss.
(c) Lady.
(d) Daughter.

2. In what year did Alabama repeal its law against interracial marriage?
(a) 1920.
(b) 2000.
(c) 1866.
(d) 1967.

3. In "Pillar Number Five: Occupational Hierarchy: The Jatis and the Mudsill," what is the rhetorical purpose of including the Hammond quotes?
(a) This illustrates the depth of hatred that White Southerners had for the lowest caste.
(b) This is a defining historical moment that explicitly supports the chapter's central claim.
(c) It bolsters Wilkerson's ethos, making the reader more receptive to her claims about India.
(d) It demonstrates that religious belief is incompatible with endorsement of a caste system.

4. What social trend does Wilkerson link to the 2016 election?
(a) An increase in hate crimes.
(b) The offshoring of manufacturing jobs.
(c) A rise in anxiety and depression.
(d) A decrease in undocumented immigration.

5. On page 6, Wilkerson refers to white "preeminence." What quality is she referring to?
(a) Devotion to tradition or already existing institutions.
(b) Using language and mannerisms that indicate superiority.
(c) Unjustified rage.
(d) Having the highest rank or position.

Short Answer Questions

1. 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"?

2. In "Pillar Number Five: Occupational Hierarchy: The Jatis and the Mudsill," what is the rhetorical purpose of including information about Hammond's nieces?

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

4. In "Chapter Five: 'The Container We Have Built for You,'" why does Harold Hale's daughter get called into her principal's office?

5. In the beginning of "Chapter Six: The Measure of Humanity," what physical characteristic is the basis for Wilkerson's imaginary caste system?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. 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"?

3. 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."

4. In "Pillar Number Four: Purity versus Pollution," what claim does Wilkerson make about water, and how does she support her claim?

5. 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.?

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

7. According to Wilkerson in "An Old House and an Infrared Light," how are caste systems justified, and what is their real purpose?

8. Summarize the analogy Wilkerson makes between the thawing of the Siberian permafrost and the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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