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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. By what decade had "pale skin become a beauty ideal for white people, making its way into European art and literature" (57)?
(a) The 1860s.
(b) The 1790s.
(c) The 1720s.
(d) The 1920s.

2. Irving points out in Chapter 16: Logos and Stereotypes that humans are the only creatures on earth who use which objects to make sense of their world?
(a) Sounds.
(b) Symbols.
(c) Landmarks.
(d) Maps.

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

4. In Chapter 2: Family Values, Irving compares her childhood to paintings created by which famous artist?
(a) Norman Rockwell.
(b) Pablo Picasso.
(c) Andy Warhol.
(d) Rembrandt.

5. How many million black American men fought in World War II?
(a) 3.
(b) 1.
(c) 6.
(d) 9.

6. Irving tells a story about visiting what type of black professional in her early 20s?
(a) A lawyer.
(b) A dentist.
(c) An accountant.
(d) A chiropractor.

7. Irving uses an analogy in Chapter 8: Racial Categories that uses what physical attribute to stand in for race?
(a) Eye color.
(b) Finger length.
(c) Foot length.
(d) Hair color.

8. Which word does Irving define as "a collective character that describes a set of beliefs and behaviors that identify the group" (79)?
(a) Community.
(b) Motto.
(c) Tenet.
(d) Culture.

9. Irving remembers a family member telling her that Indians "were lovely people who became" what "when they drank liquor" (15)?
(a) Foolish.
(b) Apathetic.
(c) Amorous.
(d) Dangerous.

10. Irving recalls in Chapter 5: Within the Walls that in her childhood world, problems were deemed what?
(a) Private.
(b) All-consuming.
(c) Permanent.
(d) Incidental.

11. In Chapter 4: Optimism, Irving finds significance in the fact that she did not live through which historical event?
(a) The Great Depression.
(b) The Red Scare.
(c) The Jonestown Flood.
(d) The Korean War.

12. What does the letter P stand for in the acronym WASP?
(a) Privileged.
(b) Patriotic.
(c) Passive.
(d) Protestant.

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

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

15. In what year did Dr. McIntosh write an essay called "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" (86)?
(a) 1988.
(b) 2011.
(c) 1968.
(d) 2000.

Short Answer Questions

1. Irving describes her childhood neighborhood as being "almost exclusively" (24) what?

2. What was the first name of the woman who established New Salem Academy through the acquisition of a land grant?

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

4. Irving describes headwinds as working against the efforts of which group?

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

(see the answer keys)

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