Symbolism, Setting, and Objects from A Mencken Chrestomathy

Object Descriptions

This section provides a short description of all the major objects in the book. This can be printed out as a study guide for students, used as a "key" for leading a class discussion, or you can jump to the quiz/homework section to find worksheets that incorporate these descriptions into a variety of question formats.

Objects

Baltimore, Maryland - Mencken was born in this place and spent his entire life there and did all of his writing there.

The Universe - In Mencken's view, this place is meaningless and absurd and humanity is even more absurd for thinking he is the center of it.

The United States - Mencken's country of origin and the country of concern in his writings.

The South - Mencken despised this region of the country as a whole, at least post-Civil War.

The Baltimore Sun - This was one of the most famous newspapers...
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