Caste

by

Isabel Wilkerson

Caste: Chapter 23 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
In the 1800s, free Black passengers on a steamboat in the South weren’t permitted to dine at the same time (or even in the same space or with the same utensils) as white passengers. So, these passengers—who threatened the hierarchy of the South—were forced to eat, standing up, in the ship’s pantry. Those in a caste system who rise above their station become “foot soldiers” at the borders of caste hierarchy, breaking down barriers that the dominant caste doesn’t want challenged.
By comparing subordinate-caste members who are able to find success in society to “foot soldiers,” the book is speaking to their bravery—but also unfortunately to their anonymity and expendability. These people put their lives on the line each time they resist the caste system.
Themes
Caste, Race, and Social Division in the U.S.  Theme Icon
The Costs of Caste Theme Icon
Quotes
In 2015, a Black women’s book club took a trip to Napa Valley, where they were kicked off of a train for laughing too loudly. And in 2018, a group of Black women golfers were asked to leave a golf course for allegedly taking too long on the green. Wilkerson herself was bullied by a white flight attendant who refused to help her lift her bag into a first-class overhead compartment. On a different flight, she was terrorized by a man sitting behind her who began kicking and punching her seat on a redeye after she reclined her seat just a few inches to get some sleep. And on yet another flight, a fellow passenger leaned on and physically intimidated her while retrieving his bag from an overhead compartment—no one who saw the incident did anything to help her.
The caste system ensures that anyone who deviates from their assigned position is forced back into that category. In all of these anecdotes, Black women who occupied spaces that are typically reserved for members of the dominant caste were swiftly and cruelly punished and removed. Those in the subordinate caste must fight to take up space in places that the dominant caste wants to exclude them from.
Themes
Caste, Race, and Social Division in the U.S.  Theme Icon
How Caste Sustains Itself Theme Icon
The Costs of Caste Theme Icon