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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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 speak upon the beauty of the female figure.
(c) He wishes them to burn all of their poems and drown themselves.
(d) He wishes them to write a funeral service for the damned.

2. Which is NOT one of the reasons Mencken praises George Washington?
(a) He scorned foreign entanglements.
(b) He ignored the private morals of his neighbors.
(c) He enjoyed whiskey.
(d) He was a pious man.

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

4. What aspect of human nature fuels the democratic system of government?
(a) Murderous violence.
(b) Charity.
(c) Envy.
(d) Grace.

5. Who derives several advantages from marriage?
(a) Only the state.
(b) Men and women equally.
(c) Men only.
(d) Women only.

6. What is the purpose of monogamy, according to Mencken?
(a) Marriage serves to kill and restrain passion.
(b) Marriage serves to emphasize romantic love.
(c) Marriage serves to protect society from itself.
(d) Marriage serves to enhance and legitimize passion.

7. Which is NOT one of the features Mencken imagines for the Confederacy, had it survived the Civil War?
(a) It would never have abolished slavery.
(b) It would be a wealthier place.
(c) It would have a strong aristocracy in place.
(d) It would be a more cultured place.

8. In "female novels," how are males portrayed according to Mencken?
(a) As "he-men."
(b) As "heartthrobs."
(c) As "boobs."
(d) As "charlatans."

9. What subject does Mencken begin his volume with?
(a) The mysteries of women.
(b) The horrors of the carnival.
(c) The nature of man.
(d) The automobile.

10. Who rules American culture, according to Chapter 10?
(a) Psychologists and doctors.
(b) Quacks such as chiropractors.
(c) The learned aristocracy.
(d) The uncivilized mob.

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

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

13. Why is the "pretty man" hated?
(a) Women are jealous of pretty men.
(b) Women care less for beauty than men do.
(c) The pretty man is almost universally also very dumb.
(d) The pretty man reminds us of all of our own faults.

14. What is Mencken's opinion of romantic love?
(a) It is a great and noble thing.
(b) Men must only marry for romantic love, and not for other considerations.
(c) It benefits men rather than women.
(d) It is a dangerous farce.

15. What effect has intermarriage had on the American South?
(a) It has infused the American South with the very best qualities of Western Europe.
(b) It has introduced culture such as art and literature into the American South.
(c) It has negatively blurred the lines between high class and low class.
(d) It has positively blurred the lines between high class and low class.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Mencken's hope for democracy?

2. What was the most damning effect of the Civil War, in regard to the South?

3. What does the "romantic" type of person inevitably do?

4. What kind of promises do politicians make?

5. What does democracy ruin, according to Mencken?

(see the answer keys)

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