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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 is NOT a way in which Irving describes the idea of whiteness remaining constant over time in Chapter 9: White Superiority?

2. Between 1820 and 1920, how many million people with light skin immigrated from non-Anglo countries to the United States?

3. In Chapter 13, Irving explains that inattentional blindness also goes by which other term?

4. The activity at the end of Chapter 4: Optimism asks the reader to think about "major economic, political, demographic, and pop culture trends" (35) that occurred how many years before their birth, through the age of 20?

5. Irving conceives of tailwinds as forces working toward the efforts of which group?

Short Essay Questions

1. For what purpose does Irving include an allusion to Norman Rockwell in Chapter 2: Family Values?

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

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

5. What message does Irving send in Chapter 3: Race Versus Class about the distinction between those two elements of society?

6. What singular conclusion does Irving draw about culture in Chapter 3: Race Versus Class?

7. What was the Carlisle School and what effect did it have on the rest of the country?

8. What is the motivation for the dominant culture's stance regarding America as either a melting pot or a mosaic?

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

10. Describe one theme present within the epigraph presented at the beginning of Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How do the themes of self-deception and secrecy function within Waking Up White and what is Irving’s message regarding these themes?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the instances of irony within the narrative of Waking Up White and analyze Irving’s purpose for including each instance you discuss.

Essay Topic 3

What is Irving's message about the relationship between race and class within the book Waking Up White?

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