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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In which level of Irving's education did she learn about "white ethnics" (61)?
(a) High school.
(b) Junior high.
(c) Graduate.
(d) Undergraduate.

2. In Chapter 7: The GI Bill, Irving uses the bill to underscore "the meaning of" (45) what?
(a) Blockbusting.
(b) Passive racism.
(c) Unearned privilege.
(d) Microaggression.

3. In Chapter 18: Color-Blind, Irving states that she decided early in life that racism was what sort of conversation topic?
(a) Boring.
(b) Volatile.
(c) Unseemly.
(d) Dangerous.

4. Irving describes her childhood neighborhood as being "almost exclusively" (24) what?
(a) Asian.
(b) White.
(c) Black.
(d) Latinx.

5. Irving advocates for which narrative to become one among many telling the story of America's history?
(a) Dominant.
(b) Marginalized.
(c) Qualitative.
(d) Quantitative.

6. At what age did Irving graduate from college, effectively ending the unexamined part of her life?
(a) 21.
(b) 22.
(c) 24.
(d) 23.

7. Irving remarks on the recent push to use the term "enslaved African" (107) in lieu of which term?
(a) Indentured servant.
(b) African immigrant.
(c) Immigrant.
(d) Slave.

8. In Chapter 3: Race Versus Class, Irving states that "Understanding" what, "regardless of class, is key to understanding racism" (26)?
(a) Wealth.
(b) Whiteness.
(c) Privilege.
(d) Assimilation.

9. For what period of time did "the zap factor" (92) shape Irving's behavior?
(a) Years.
(b) Weeks.
(c) Days.
(d) Months.

10. Which American generation is defined as having been born between the years of 1946 and 1964?
(a) Generation X.
(b) Baby Boomers.
(c) Generation Y.
(d) The Lost Generation.

11. Irving states that American culture and government have always rejected the idea of America as what object?
(a) A melting pot.
(b) A city on a hill.
(c) A utopia.
(d) A mosaic.

12. What was the first name of Dr. McIntosh, who wrote a famous essay about white privilege?
(a) Sarah.
(b) Anne.
(c) Peggy.
(d) Mary.

13. Irving asserts in Chapter 4: Optimism that the American Dream is accessible to whom?
(a) A select few.
(b) Nearly everyone.
(c) Most.
(d) All.

14. Irving describes headwinds as working against the efforts of which group?
(a) Immigrants.
(b) People of color.
(c) Democrats.
(d) White people.

15. Irving discusses the acronym WASP in Chapter 3: Race Versus Class, stating that the W stands for which word?
(a) Weathered.
(b) White.
(c) Wealthy.
(d) Women.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was the name of the film from which Irving learned about the GI Bill?

2. Which member of Irving's family is featured most prominently within the events of the memoir's first chapter?

3. Irving quotes Betsy Leondar-Wright in Chapter 3: Race Versus Class, writing, "When it comes to culture, the only thing we all have in common is that we have one and that" (28) what?

4. What sort of literary device does Irving use to stress the verbs "avoid" and "perpetuate" in relation to the "zap factor" (92)?

5. Irving states that skin color symbolism plus favoritism plus power equals which element?

(see the answer keys)

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