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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Mencken compares Theodore Roosevelt's political ideas to which other politician's?
(a) A Japanese feudal lord.
(b) Germany's Kaiser.
(c) England's Queen.
(d) The United State's William Jennings Bryan.

2. What do most women think of their husbands according to Mencken?
(a) Women fear and loathe their husbands.
(b) Women are indifferent to their husbands and use them as mere tools.
(c) Women love and respect their husbands.
(d) Women pity their husbands and consider them asses.

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 prone to believe in ridiculous things.
(c) Man is the center of the universe, and rightly so.
(d) Man is full of errors.

4. What is Mencken's opinion of the belief that man has a soul, according to Chapter 1?
(a) The notion of a soul has led to unprecedented successes in philosophy and elsewhere.
(b) The notion of a soul is simple, but still very relevant today.
(c) The notion of a soul is humanity's one bright spot.
(d) The notion of a soul has failed to result in more people acting like God.

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

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

7. What does Mencken NOT believe about the possibility for morality to change over time?
(a) Morality can adopt new ideas, like Christian beliefs.
(b) Morality evolves and grows over time.
(c) Morality was determined in ancient times, and has not changed.
(d) Different subsections of morality can grow over time.

8. Why does Mencken admire John D. Rockefeller?
(a) For his political acumen.
(b) For his research foundations.
(c) For his business prowess.
(d) For his larger-than-life lifestyle.

9. What "call" does Mencken make to America's poets in Chapter 7?
(a) He wishes them to rewrite Ode to a Grecian Urn.
(b) He wishes them to write a funeral service for the damned.
(c) He wishes them to burn all of their poems and drown themselves.
(d) He wishes them to speak upon the beauty of the female figure.

10. What is the problem with trying to punishment a government for not working well?
(a) Punishing the government will lead to revenge tactics.
(b) Voting is usually rigged.
(c) The government itself is in control of the means of punishment.
(d) There are too many bureaucracies and it is impossible to determine who to punish.

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

12. What kind of men has history been written by, to date?
(a) Third-rate, inferior men.
(b) Noble men of purpose.
(c) Men more interested in power than factual accuracy.
(d) The most intelligent men, and this is why history cannot be understood by most.

13. What is the subject of Chapter 7?
(a) Classical composers.
(b) Taxes.
(c) Death.
(d) Quackery.

14. What kind of people are most often forgotten by historical records, per Chapter 12?
(a) Respectful and intelligent men.
(b) Great warriors.
(c) Courageous women.
(d) The commoners.

15. At what event did Mencken first personally encounter William Jennings Bryan?
(a) The funeral of Grover Cleveland.
(b) The Scopes Monkey trial.
(c) The 1912 Democratic National Convention.
(d) Bryan's congressional trial for corruption.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Mencken believe about the concept of evil?

2. How has Mencken organized his book?

3. What is Mencken's hope for democracy?

4. Which is NOT one of the reasons Mencken praises George Washington?

5. In Chapter 7, Mencken notes that there are too few books written about what subject?

(see the answer keys)

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