View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Mencken say about the nature of scientific hypotheses?
(a) Hypotheses are almost always wrong, as men are poor at guesswork.
(b) He is highly skeptical of their value.
(c) He believes they should be lesser in number, and less fanciful.
(d) We need more of them, and they are valuable.

2. Which is the "most democratic" of art forms according to Mencken?
(a) Poetry.
(b) Music.
(c) Drama.
(d) Sculpture.

3. How does Mencken react to a religious ceremony inside a basilica, as he recounts in Chapter 15?
(a) With indifference.
(b) With disgust.
(c) With intellectual curiosity.
(d) With joy.

4. What is the usual relationship between an artist and his countrymen?
(a) The artist has no relationship to his community.
(b) The artist works for the community.
(c) The artist is in perfect harmony with the community.
(d) The artist is at odds with his community.

5. Who wrote Sextet for Strings, Opus 18, which Mencken greatly praises?
(a) Strauss.
(b) Beethoven.
(c) Wagner.
(d) Brahms.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Mencken, how will "anyone who appreciates aural beauty" regard opera?

2. What kind of test does Mencken believe teachers should have to pass prior to teaching?

3. Who was the attorney on the side of the prosecution in the Scopes Monkey Trial?

4. Who wrote Parsifal?

5. What was "unusual" about Mr. Gray?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Mencken's own philosophy of psychology? What does he feel forms the basis of human psychology?

2. In Chapter 24, Mencken discusses art and literary criticism. How do critics influence artists? And what makes for the best kind of literary critics?

3. What does Mencken believe about contemporary new inventions? Mention the telephone as well as the thermostat in your response.

4. In "Utopian Flights," how does Mencken suggest that legislators be chosen? What benefits would this method have, in his opinion?

5. Why does Mencken make mention of Charles Joseph Bonaparte? Who was Bonaparte, and what was Mencken's opinion of him?

6. Why does Mencken make mention of Sister Aimee? Who was Sister Aimee, and what was Mencken's opinion of her?

7. What is Mencken's opinion of the music of Johann Strauss? Why wasn't Strauss' music more well-received in America?

8. What insight does Mencken provide about physical disease/illness?

9. What is Mencken's belief about American millionaires?

10. What is Mencken's opinion of the teaching profession? How does he compare and contrast teaching styles of his schoolboy days to today?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 950 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample