Print
Word
PDF
|
| Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
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. Which leading Black intellectual corresponded with Bhimrao Ambedkar about race in America?
3. In the beginning of "Chapter Six: The Measure of Humanity," what physical characteristic is the basis for Wilkerson's imaginary caste system?
4. Besides the caste systems in India and the United States, which other caste system does Wilkerson say that she will focus on?
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. According to Wilkerson, what relationship exists between immigration or transportation to America and "becoming" white or Black?
2. In "Pillar Number Eight: Inherent Superiority versus Inherent Inferiority," what does Wilkerson say underlies each of the first seven "pillars" she has already described?
3. For what reason does Wilkerson say that race is a social concept, not a biological one?
4. What explanation does Wilkerson give of the justification for slavery in Christian scriptures in "Pillar Number One: Divine Will and the Laws of Nature"?
5. According to Wilkerson in "An Old House and an Infrared Light," how are caste systems justified, and what is their real purpose?
6. 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?
7. How does Wilkerson explain the differences between race and caste?
8. In "Pillar Number Four: Purity versus Pollution," what claim does Wilkerson make about water, and how does she support her claim?
9. Explain the analogy that Wilkerson makes between caste and a play.
10. 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"?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Choose a work of fiction or poetry by an American Afrofuturist author to read. (Yes, Black Panther comics count.) Write an essay in which you explain the relationship of ideas in Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents to the ideas conveyed by the work of fiction or poetry.
Essay Topic 2
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 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.
|
This section contains 1,082 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
|
