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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. Which Southern state does Mencken particularly mourn in his obituary on the American South?
(a) Virginia.
(b) Louisiana.
(c) Georgia.
(d) Texas.

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

4. 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.

5. Why did England experience particular difficulties in World War I according to Mencken?
(a) It took the wrong side.
(b) It ignored the psychological aspect of warfare.
(c) It made secret pacts it could not honor.
(d) It ran out of money.

6. What is Mencken's belief about morality?
(a) Morality is reserved only for the aristocracy.
(b) Morality is necessary.
(c) Morality is unnecessary.
(d) Morality is a made-up concept that doesn't exist.

7. What does the "metaphysical" type of person inevitably do?
(a) Begs for spare change.
(b) Becomes paralyzed with fear over the enormity of the universe.
(c) Tips their hat for no reason.
(d) Demands to know what you mean, even when it is obvious.

8. 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 it is a spiritually enlightened place.
(c) He thinks highly of it because of its emphasis on grassroots values.
(d) He believes that southerners are intellectually superior to northerners, but rarely show it.

9. What aspect of President Grant does Mencken admire?
(a) His military prowess.
(b) His reputation for a clean, corruption-free administration.
(c) His oratorical prowess.
(d) His hard-living, genuine lifestyle.

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

11. What does Mencken believe about the universality of morality?
(a) Morality is specific to a particular individual.
(b) Morality is specific to regions of the world.
(c) Morality is universal, and differences between moral systems are small.
(d) Morality depends upon the language one speaks.

12. What was the most damning effect of the Civil War, in regard to the South?
(a) It destroyed the Southern aristocracy.
(b) It created the Southern aristocracy.
(c) It replaced religious values with secular ones.
(d) It introduced technology into an innocent and primitive society.

13. In Chapter 7, Mencken notes that there are too few books written about what subject?
(a) Taxes.
(b) Death.
(c) Women.
(d) True crime.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. How would George Washington fare in today's political climate?

2. What is the fundamental flaw of the democratic style of government?

3. How does Mencken feel about the overall capacity for virtue in the human race?

4. How has Mencken organized his book?

5. How does Mencken characterize a woman's level of civility?

(see the answer keys)

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