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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. 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 "Chapter Six: The Measure of Humanity," what reason does Wilkerson give for most people's participation in the American caste system?

3. In "An American Untouchable," how does the high school principal in India refer to Martin Luther King'?

4. In "Chapter Five: 'The Container We Have Built for You,'" what does Harold Hale do when people knock down his mailbox?

5. How many American states had laws officially prohibiting marriage between Blacks and whites?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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."

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

4. 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?

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

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

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

8. 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?

9. 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.?

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 in which you trace the "journey" to inclusion among the "White" caste of an immigrant group whose status was questionable at one time in American history (the Irish, Italians, etc.). In the second part of your essay, consider how this information either supports, refutes, or qualifies Wilkerson's work. Use textual evidence to support your claims. Be sure to cite your sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

Write your own argument of definition. 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 in which you evaluate Wilkerson's case for Nazi Germany as a caste system. Offer textual evidence for your claims, and be sure to cite all sources in MLA format.

(see the answer keys)

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