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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 7: "Part Seven: Awakening" and "Epilogue: A World Without Caste".

Multiple Choice Questions

1. On page 15, Wilkerson says of the old house that "whatever is lurking will fester." What is especially apt about her choice of the word "fester"?
(a) It has a lighter and more comic "sound" than the synonyms Wilkerson might have chosen.
(b) Its sibilance is part of an alliterative pattern.
(c) Its connotations evoke the idea of a swamp or mire.
(d) It has meanings that can be applied to both literal structures and to abstract structures.

2. In "Chapter Thirty: Shedding the Sacred Thread," what truth does the Brahmin know about the Dalit?
(a) They are not really content in their role in Indian society.
(b) They are not really suffering as much as they seem to be.
(c) They are generally lazy and unmotivated.
(d) They understand that their own karma has made them Dalits.

3. In "Chapter Thirty-One: The Heart Is the Last Frontier," what are the details about Wilkerson's neighborhood intended to convey?
(a) Wilkerson thinks that her neighborhood is unfriendly.
(b) It is a White, working-class neighborhood.
(c) It is an upper-middle-class neighborhood.
(d) Wilkerson does not know her neighbors very well.

4. In "Through the Fog of Delhi to the Parallels in India and America," what is the rhetorical purpose of including the detail of the fog that Wilkerson sees when her plane lands?
(a) Wilkerson is metaphorically challenging the reader to reason past a "fog" of propaganda.
(b) It foreshadows the difficulties Wilkerson will have in gaining cooperation during her visit.
(c) It symbolizes the difficulty of seeing the Indian social system clearly.
(d) Wilkerson personifies the fog in an analogy that demonstrates how tradition "clouds" an understanding of present realities.

5. In "Chapter Twenty-Six: Turning Point and the Resurgence of Caste," what mistake does Wilkerson believe Democrats make with regard to their most loyal voters?
(a) Failing to follow through on promises made to them.
(b) Failing to think through the consequences of their "wish list."
(c) Making their concerns the central focus.
(d) Making their concerns a low priority.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Chapter Twenty: The Inevitable Narcissism of Caste," to which narcissistic family role does Wilkerson compare indigenous peoples?

2. In "Chapter Twenty-One: The German Girl with the Dark, Wavy Hair," what point does Wilkerson make about the relationship of the loss of the Jewish population and the chapter's titular story?

3. Which of the following is the traditional Indian word for "caste"?

4. In "Chapter Twenty-Four: Cortisol, Telomeres, and the Lethality of Caste," which of the following groups does Wilkerson say tends to show more of the negative health impacts of prejudice?

5. In "Pillar Number Five: Occupational Hierarchy: The Jatis and the Mudsill," what is the rhetorical purpose of including the Hammond quotes?

(see the answer key)

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