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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 Twenty-Nine: The Price We Pay for a Caste System," what is the anecdote about physicist Lean Lederman intended to illustrate?

2. In "Chapter Twenty: The Inevitable Narcissism of Caste," what does Wilkerson say is the cause of phenomena like an Iranian immigrant feeling moved to point out the existence of a blond-haired child somewhere in the family?

3. In "Chapter Fifteen: The Urgent Necessity of a Bottom Rung," how did the incident at People's Grocery begin?

4. In "Chapter Twenty-Three: Shock Troops on the Borders of Hierarchy," what are the Black women on the wine train ejected from the train for?

5. In "Chapter Twenty: The Inevitable Narcissism of Caste," what is the rhetorical purpose of Wilkerson's anecdote about speaking with her colleague about the difficulty of managing her disabled mother's care?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. 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?

3. In "Chapter Fifteen: The Urgent Necessity of a Bottom Rung," what historical discussion of the French treatment of Black American soldiers does Wilkerson relate?

4. According to Wilkerson, in "Chapter Twenty-Five: A Change in the Script," what impact has the census prediction for 2042 had on Whites in America?

5. 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?

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

7. 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?

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

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

10. 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?

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 compare and contrast Wilkerson's vision of an American caste system with the caste system of India. Offer textual evidence for your claims, and be sure to cite all sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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