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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Pillar Number Eight: Inherent Superiority versus Inherent Inferiority," what is Wilkerson's central claim?

2. According to "Pillar Number Five: Occupational Hierarchy: The Jatis and the Mudsill," what percentage of Blacks worked in white-collar professions during the Great Depression?

3. In "Chapter Five: 'The Container We Have Built for You,'" what unusual name does Harold Hale give his daughter?

4. In "Pillar Number Five: Occupational Hierarchy: The Jatis and the Mudsill," how does Wilkerson say the state of South Carolina tried to keep Blacks out of all jobs other than domestic service and farming?

5. On page 59 of "Chapter Five: 'The Container We Have Built for You,'" when Harold Hale's daughter is about to return to school after a visit with a friend's family, what is the grandmother's response?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "'The Container We Have Built for You,'" how does "Miss" end up with her unusual first name?

2. According to "A Long-Running Play and the Emergence of Caste in America," what was the original justification for lifetime enslavement, and how did that justification need to change as circumstances changed?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that makes and defends a claim regarding one of the "Pillars" of caste that Wilkerson lays out in "Part Three: The Eight Pillars of Caste." Use textual support for your claim, and be sure to cite all sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you use argument by analogy to make your case. You may write on any topic you choose, as long as you create a tenable thesis. Be sure to cite any sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay that defends, refutes, or qualifies the following claim: "In Caste: The Origins of our Discontents, Isabel Wilkerson is not arguing against social hierarchies but rather against assigning a place within the hierarchy based on race." Use textual evidence to support your argument; if you use outside sources, be sure to cite them in MLA format.

(see the answer keys)

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