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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. On page 283 of "Chapter Twenty-Two: The Stockholm Syndrome and the Survival of the Subordinate Class," what does Wilkerson quote anthropologist Edmund Leach as saying about the lowest caste in India?

2. In "Chapter Twelve: A Scapegoat to Bear the Sins of the World," what does Wilkerson say Austin police initially said about the bomb-related death of Stephan House?

3. In "Chapter Fourteen: The Intrusion of Caste in Everyday Life," what does Wilkerson compare to the modern phenomenon of whites calling the police on Blacks who are just going about ordinary everyday business?

4. In "Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Symbols of Caste," what does Wilkerson describe at the site of the bunker where Hitler died?

5. In "Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Symbols of Caste," Wilkerson mentions two films that "fed the country and the world the Confederate version of the war" (335.) One is Birth of a Nation. What is the other?

Short Essay Questions

1. What principle is Wilkerson trying to illustrate with her personal anecdotes about flying first class in "Chapter Twenty-Three: Shock Troops on the Borders of Hierarchy"?

2. 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?

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

4. In "Chapter Twenty-Five: A Change in the Script," why does Wilkerson say that Barack Obama's parentage helped in his election bid?

5. In "Chapter Twenty-Six: Turning Point and the Resurgence of Caste," whom does Wilkerson call the most loyal voters of the Republican Party, and how does the party treat them, according to her?

6. Explain what Erich Fromm says about group narcissism, as described by Wilkerson in "Chapter Twenty: The Inevitable Narcissism of Caste."

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. Who was Satchel Paige, and what does his life story illustrate about race in America?

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

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 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 2

Write an essay in which you take and defend a position about whether the sometimes shallow coverage of historical and sociological phenomena in Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents is a weakness in Wilkerson's argument or is merely an effect of her attempt to appeal to a popular audience. Offer textual evidence for your claims, and be sure to cite all sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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