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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Irving describes growing up in an affluent suburb of which American city?
(a) New York City.
(b) Philadelphia.
(c) Boston.
(d) San Francisco.

2. How many different categories does Betsy Leondar-Wright identify when she provides "a way of thinking about class" (30)?
(a) 5.
(b) 19.
(c) 3.
(d) 7.

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

4. 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.

5. How many siblings does Irving have?
(a) 4.
(b) 3.
(c) 2.
(d) 1.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which quality did Irving's father stress above all others throughout his children's childhoods?

2. Irving recalls in Chapter 5: Within the Walls that in her childhood world, problems were deemed what?

3. Irving states that the theory of colorblindness maintains all but which of the following within American society?

4. In Chapter 6: From Confusion to Shock, Irving describes moving to the city of Cambridge in which state after college?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. In what area of the United States and in what kind of dwelling did Irving grow up?

2. Compare and contrast the answer Irving's mother gave her in Chapter 1: What Wasn't Said with the answer Irving believes should have been delivered.

3. Irving asserts that when which three elements are added together, they equal systemic racism?

4. What major myth propagated within the population of Baby Boomers does Irving discuss in Chapter 4: Optimism?

5. How does Irving explore the origins of the desirability of white skin in Chapter 8: Racial Categories?

6. How does Irving explain the difference between a mosaic and a melting pot?

7. What is the significance of Jean Elliott's experimentation in 1968?

8. What is another term for inattentional blindness and what do the two terms mean?

9. What solution does Irving offer for creating a more complete picture of American history?

10. What is Irving's purpose for including a lengthy explanation of her mother's overall kindness in Chapter 1: What Wasn't Said?

(see the answer keys)

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