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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Star-Spangled Man," Mencken argued that who, besides soldiers, should get medals?
(a) Anyone hostile to the United States.
(b) Writers and intellectuals.
(c) Dock workers and tugboat captains.
(d) Murderers, thieves, and rapists.

2. Which was NOT one of the reasons why a Christian wouldn't man cheat on his wife, according to "The Libertine"?
(a) He had a conscience to tell him no.
(b) He didn't have the courage.
(c) He was too fatigued by all the Christian rules he must follow.
(d) He didn't have the money to support a mistress.

3. Which was NOT a source of terrible smell in the Baltimore of the 1880s, according to Mencken?
(a) The Back Basin.
(b) The St. Helen's insane asylum.
(c) The glue factory.
(d) Wilkins Hair Factory.

4. What aspect of man-woman relationships are the movies incorrect about, according to Mencken?
(a) Men don't like to date women younger than themselves.
(b) Handsome men are not sought after by women.
(c) Women always begin a romance; men are too cowardly.
(d) There is no such thing as romantic love.

5. What cheeky nickname did Mencken give Theodore Dreiser?
(a) The Jack Ripper of the novel.
(b) The Clown Prince of prose.
(c) The Frankenstein of the short story.
(d) The Hindenburg of the novel.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Pater Patriae," which was NOT one of the reasons Mencken admired George Washington?

2. Why shouldn't men trust other men?

3. How did Gene the magistrate handle an overzealous Methodist clergyman?

4. Which was described as Mencken's earliest memory?

5. Which was NOT a feature of the ideal aristocracy, according to Mencken?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Mencken answer the question of whether successful men should have mistresses?

2. In "A Blind Spot," why was Mencken impervious to the ills of democracy?

3. Why was 1880s Baltimore such a loud town?

4. Why do men usually marry women who are "basically hideous"?

5. What circumstances drove Mencken away from attending the Y. M. C. A.?

6. In "Gore in the Caribees," what becames of the rebel leader, Jose Miguel Gomez?

7. According to Mencken, Theodore Dreiser had what emotional effect on the reader?

8. Why are "handsome men" suspicious, according to "The Lure of Beauty"?

9. Why did Mencken believe it was advantageous for him to have not attended college?

10. What was the nature of Mencken's first memory, as described in "Introduction to the Universe"?

(see the answer keys)

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