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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 23, Souvenirs of a Journalist, Chapter 24, Criticism.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Privately, politicians are what kind of people?
(a) Lying wretches.
(b) Criminals.
(c) Exceedingly eccentric.
(d) Charming individuals.

2. According to Chapter 16, which political system is responsible for the majority of civilization as we know it?
(a) Capitalism.
(b) Socialism.
(c) Oligarchy.
(d) Dictatorship.

3. Why might "reflective and skeptical men" refrain from suicide?
(a) For the good food in life.
(b) For the sense of humor in life.
(c) For the great women in life.
(d) For the thrill of physical activity.

4. How does Mencken define government?
(a) A dozen men who can't do anything right.
(b) A conspiracy against superior men.
(c) A collection of the looniest among us.
(d) A war on the poor.

5. What quality makes for the best literary critic, according to Chapter 24?
(a) Accuracy and a need to refute error.
(b) Adhering to a specific philosophical system.
(c) The goal to create a work of art.
(d) Advancing a personal agenda or doctrine.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who was the attorney on the side of the defense in the Scopes Monkey Trial?

2. What kind of promises do politicians make?

3. What "call" does Mencken make to America's poets in Chapter 7?

4. Why does Mencken criticize the American Medical Association?

5. What was "unusual" about Mr. Gray?

(see the answer key)

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