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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 "Chapter Fourteen: The Intrusion of Caste in Everyday Life," Wilkerson relays the story of a Black woman who visits a new white neighbor. What is the white neighbor's response?

2. What does Tushar, from the London conference in "Chapter Ten: Central Miscasting," say caused him to question the caste system?

3. In "Chapter Fourteen: The Intrusion of Caste in Everyday Life," who follows and questions Wilkerson when she is in an airport?

4. In "Chapter Twenty-Four: Cortisol, Telomeres, and the Lethality of Caste," what are the "telomeres" Wilkerson talks about?

5. In "Chapter Thirteen: The Insecure Alpha and the Purpose of an Underdog," what is Wilkerson arguing about the role of the "omega" wolf, at the bottom of the pack hierarchy?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Chapter Twenty-Six: Turning Point and the Resurgence of Caste," what does Wilkerson say about understanding the voting of lower-class whites?

2. In "Chapter Twenty-Four: Cortisol, Telomeres, and the Lethality of Caste," what does Wilkerson say about the biological threat response of white Americans?

3. Summarize the story Wilkerson tells in "Chapter Twenty-One: The German Girl with the Dark, Wavy Hair."

4. 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"?

5. In"Chapter Twenty: The Inevitable Narcissism of Caste," to what does Wilkerson compare the American habit of asking where people's families are from, and why?

6. In "Chapter Twenty-Five: A Change in the Script," how does Wilkerson say Civil War politics seem to still influence American voting?

7. In "Chapter Fourteen: The Intrusion of Caste in Everyday Life," what is the rhetorical purpose of including the anecdote about the father and toddler in the restaurant?

8. What is "variolation," and how did the route of its introduction into Colonial America interfere with its adoption?

9. In "Chapter Twenty-Four: Cortisol, Telomeres, and the Lethality of Caste," what evidence is there that Blacks in America are under stress from the society around them?

10. In "Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Symbols of Caste," why does Wilkerson quote the vice president of the Confederacy's statement about the purpose of the Confederacy?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you apply Wilkerson's discussion of racism from "The R Word" to a current issue in American society. You are not being asked to apply her definition to racism in general, but to a specific event or controversy. Show how her definition is either helpful or not helpful in understanding the current issue you have chosen. Offer textual evidence for your claims, and be sure to cite all sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

On page 388, Wilkerson says "We are responsible for our own ignorance or, with time and openhearted enlightenment, our own wisdom. We are responsible for ourselves and our own deeds or misdeeds in our time and in our own space and will be judged accordingly by succeeding generations.” Write an essay in which you explain her meaning and in which you defend, refute, or qualify this statement. Offer textual support for your claims and cite any outside sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay that makes and defends a claim related to "status threat" as Wilkerson explains it in "Chapter Eleven: Dominant Group Status Threat and the Precarity of the Highest Rung." Be sure to cite all sources in MLA format.

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