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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. What does Rankine refer to "the gloom" in her poem in Part III?

2. What does Rankine quote comedian Chris Rock as saying in Part IV?

3. When was the word "privilege" first used, according to Rankine?

4. What book does Rankine question if she has read herself too many times?

5. What claim of psychologist Kristina Olson's does Rankine cite on children and racial preferences?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is one major way Rankine points out in which Black people are historically economically more disadvantaged than whites?

2. In Part IV, what kinds of conversations does Rankine include excerpts from?

3. What does the white female judge say about her son in Part IV that shocks Rankine?

4. What does Rankine wonder about the woman in Part IV who has a medical emergency on the plane?

5. What does Rankine mean when she asks the question, "Whose boys get to be boys?" (264).

6. What did the actress Eartha Kitt do in 1968 that led to her being blacklisted?

7. What cliched phrase that is often used to excuse terrible behavior on the part of boys and men did Rankine recall hearing after the Kavanaugh hearings in Part IV?

8. In the very beginning of Part III, what does Rankine write that she is attempting to understand?

9. Why does Rankine stop herself abruptly when comparing herself and a white friend in Part III?

10. What did former President Lyndon Johnson tell journalist Bill Moyers about white and Black relations?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why do you think Rankine chooses to juxtapose excerpts from the document "Notes on the State of Virginia," which was written in 1782, and photographs and descriptions of the white supremacist "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville in 2017? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay explaining Rankine's reasoning behind her hesitancy to go to her daughter's parent-teacher conference along with her husband, as she explains it in Part II.

Essay Topic 3

Why does Rankine feel she is being silenced at a dinner party in Part III, and what is her reaction to this feeling? How do her fellow dinner guests respond to her anger? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 911 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample