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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 13, Statesmen, Chapter 14, American Immortals.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does Mencken characterize a woman's level of civility?
(a) Women do not submit to civilization and must be coerced.
(b) Women have created their own civilization quite distinct from men.
(c) Women are relatively uncivilized.
(d) Women are much more civilized than men.

2. What does the "believer" type of person inevitably do?
(a) Betrays friends as well as lovers.
(b) Maintains a faith in the improbable.
(c) Annoys the company he or she is with.
(d) Thinks they are better than everyone.

3. Why is the culture of the United States deficient, according to Chapter 10?
(a) The U.S. lacks a civilized aristocracy.
(b) The U.S. lacks a sound monetary policy.
(c) The U.S. lacks a healthy skepticism for so-called artists.
(d) The U.S. lacks social programs for the poor.

4. Who is the "ideal citizen of Christendom" according to Chapter 3?
(a) The hapless hero of a female novel.
(b) An emotionally cold woman.
(c) Young men drained of passion.
(d) Young men full of passion.

5. What is Mencken's opinion of the American South?
(a) He loathes it and believes it to be a crude and uncultured place.
(b) He thinks highly of it because of its emphasis on grassroots values.
(c) He thinks it is a spiritually enlightened place.
(d) He believes that southerners are intellectually superior to northerners, but rarely show it.

Short Answer Questions

1. What aspect of President Grant does Mencken admire?

2. What subject does Mencken begin his volume with?

3. How intelligent are women according to Mencken?

4. What is the proper function of punishment for crimes?

5. Why might "reflective and skeptical men" refrain from suicide?

(see the answer key)

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