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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

4. What is the chief problem with political theorists?
(a) They have little sense of history.
(b) They are too antagonistic to the current political system.
(c) They attempt to dignify the political order of their day.
(d) They hate politics in general.

5. What period in history does Mencken refer to as "New Deal No. 1"?
(a) Britain in the 1910s.
(b) North Africa in the 1900s.
(c) France in the 1840s.
(d) America in the 1770s.

Short Answer Questions

1. What kind of people are most often forgotten by historical records, per Chapter 12?

2. What does the "believer" type of person inevitably do?

3. What does Mencken NOT believe about the possibility for morality to change over time?

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

5. What is the purpose of monogamy, according to Mencken?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Mencken's view of monogamy/marriage?

2. Who is Professor Thorstein Veblen, and what is Mencken's opinion of him and his work?

3. What does Mencken have to say about politicians? What kind of people are they? How do they operate?

4. What is Mencken's opinion of the contemporary American South? What are its features? What rules the South?

5. Describe Mencken's opinion of George Washington. Why does Mencken admire him? Why doesn't Mencken believe Washington would do well in a contemporary political climate?

6. What is the average person's opinion of government, according to Mencken?

7. In Chapter 1, what comparison does Mencken make between man and animal? Who is "superior"?

8. Describe Mencken's thought experiment, in which he imagines if the Confederacy had won the Civil War.

9. What does Mencken believe about the nature of man and God? What is the consequence for believing in God? What about the soul?

10. Summarize Mencken's appraisal of William Jennings Bryan. How is Mencken's opinion related to the Scopes Monkey Trial?

(see the answer keys)

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