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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 11, The South, Chapter 12, History.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Mencken sees that too often any discussion of suicide is rooted in what incorrect notion?
(a) Death is painful.
(b) Death is painless.
(c) The family would suffer in a suicide.
(d) Killing oneself is an expensive proposition.

2. What kind of men does a democracy produce?
(a) Energetic men with too much time on their hands.
(b) Stupid men who can barely master the multiplication tables.
(c) Noble, confident men who do not envy others.
(d) Depressing men full of nostalgia.

3. Which is NOT one of Mencken's view of humankind as expressed in Chapter 1?
(a) Man is the product of random and meaningless processes.
(b) Man is the center of the universe, and rightly so.
(c) Man is full of errors.
(d) Man is prone to believe in ridiculous things.

4. What is the "altruist" motivated by?
(a) A divine inspiration.
(b) Being uncomfortable with unhappy people around him or her.
(c) Out and out greed.
(d) A selfish sense of self-worth.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What comparison does Mencken make between man and animal in Chapter 1?

2. What kind of men has history been written by, to date?

3. What or who rules the American South?

4. Who does Mencken dub "The Lady of Joy"?

5. Punishment for crime is too often what, according to Mencken?

(see the answer key)

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