View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. In "Chapter Fourteen: The Intrusion of Caste in Everyday Life," what does Wilkerson use Tamir Rice's story to illustrate?
(a) Whites often assume that they have authority over unrelated Black children.
(b) Black parents are capable of raising their own children.
(c) White bystanders often assume that they know better than Black parents.
(d) Black parents have good reason for being afraid for their sons.

3. 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 follow through on promises made to them.
(b) Making their concerns the central focus.
(c) Making their concerns a low priority.
(d) Failing to think through the consequences of their "wish list."

4. 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) Dominance over political systems.
(c) The possibility of climbing into the middle class.
(d) The illusion of racial superiority.

5. In "Chapter Twenty-Four: Cortisol, Telomeres, and the Lethality of Caste," how many years does Wilkerson say separate the average life expectancy of White college graduates from that of Black college graduates?
(a) 8.
(b) 2.
(c) 10.
(d) 4.

Short Answer Questions

1. Just before the 2008 election, what mailing did many Americans receive that Wilkerson, in "Chapter Twenty-Five: A Change in the Script," says became an "inadvertent leaflet in favor of the Democrat" (312)?

2. What fact does Wilkerson offer in "Chapter Twenty-Six: Turning Point and the Resurgence of Caste" to refute the common idea that economic insecurity cause people to vote for Trump?

3. 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?

4. In the conference described in "Chapter Ten: Central Miscasting," what difficulty does Wilkerson face?

5. In "Chapter Twenty: The Inevitable Narcissism of Caste," whose work on collective narcissism does Wilkerson discuss?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Chapter Twelve: A Scapegoat to Bear the Sins of the World," what is the rhetorical purpose of including the anecdote about the murder of Carol DiMaiti?

2. In "Chapter Sixteen: Last Place Anxiety: Packed in a Flooding Basement," what idea does Wilkerson use the story of Freddie Gray to illustrate?

3. What is the Stockholm Syndrome, and how does Wilkerson apply it to race relations in "Chapter Twenty-Two: The Stockholm Syndrome and the Survival of the Subordinate Caste"?

4. In "Chapter Twenty-Five: A Change in the Script," why does Wilkerson say that Barack Obama's parentage helped in his election bid?

5. When an Indian academic asks Wilkerson, in "Central Miscasting," what her position is in the American caste system, what does she tell him, and why?

6. In "Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Symbols of Caste," why does Wilkerson devote so much space to a discussion of Robert E. Lee's treatment of people he held as slaves?

7. Who was Satchel Paige, and what does his life story illustrate about race in America?

8. What is Wilkerson's purpose in telling the story of Devonte Hart in "Chapter Twenty-Two: The Stockholm Syndrome and the Survival of the Subordinate Caste"?

9. Describe the "Brown Eyes/Blue Eyes" experiment and its results.

10. What principle is Wilkerson trying to illustrate with her personal anecdotes about flying first class in "Chapter Twenty-Three: Shock Troops on the Borders of Hierarchy"?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,427 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample