Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Caste, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Caste, Race, and Social Division in the U.S.
Caste as a Global Problem
How Caste Sustains Itself
The Costs of Caste
Summary
Analysis
In December of 2016, Wilkerson called a plumbing company because she’d discovered flooding in the basement of her old home. A dominant-caste plumber in a red cap came to her door, and she led him to the basement, where she began sweeping water toward the drain in the middle of the floor. She explained the situation to the plumber, noting that her husband—who’d recently passed away—used to be the one to take care of household matters. She recalled a visit, weeks earlier, from an HVAC contractor—an immigrant from Central America—who went above and beyond during his visit to her home.
This passage illustrates the prejudices the caste system creates. The white plumber whom Wilkerson, a Black woman, hired didn’t give her any attention or validation, even though he was performing a service for her. The power dynamic went against the traditional structure of caste. Wilkerson, as a scholar of caste, could see what was happening—and why an earlier service call from a person who wasn’t white went very differently. But the white plumber was perhaps unconsciously abiding by the lessons that the caste system teaches people. In other words, he might not have even realized that he was allowing caste to influence his interaction with Wilkerson.
Themes
As the white plumber surveyed the basement, Wilkerson hustled to move boxes and old furniture around and to offer hypotheses as to what could be causing the flooding. The plumber didn’t lift a hand to help her or offer his opinion about what might be wrong. Frustrated, Wilkerson broke down and admitted that her mother had died last week. She asked the plumber if his mother was still living, and he said that she had been dead since 1991. As they began exchanging stories about their mothers and their grief over losing them, the plumber began to open up.
Wilkerson couldn’t get through to the plumber until she took a chance and opened up to him. By breaking down the caste-based barrier between them, she was able to connect with him on a human level. By writing about this interaction, Wilkerson is suggesting that people need to see and relate to one another outside of how caste has taught them to do so for centuries.
Themes
Soon, the plumber was helping Wilkerson navigate the basement and looking for things that might be wrong. He retrieved some tools from his truck and investigated, eventually finding that the water heater was out of order. He promised to set her up with a new one. Wilkerson marveled at how different things had been between them just minutes before. After the plumber left, he returned a few minutes later to shut off the gas to the water tank so it wouldn’t be heating an empty vessel. As he was heading out for the second time, he handed Wilkerson a stray box containing old photographs, insisting she take care of her precious memories.
This passage shows that the plumber’s demeanor changed entirely once he realized that he and Wilkerson had more in common than met the eye. Wilkerson’s anecdote implies that because of caste, this man saw her as different from (and subordinate to) him. But connecting over a shared experience—especially a shared trauma—allowed them both to recognize and celebrate each other’s humanity.
Themes
