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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who did the Black Plague mostly kill off, according to Mencken?

2. In "Utopian Flights," how does Mencken believe legislators should be chosen?

3. What quality makes for the best literary critic, according to Chapter 24?

4. Which author does Mencken believe is for "lunch-table idealists"?

5. What does Mencken believe about Freudianism?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Summarize Mencken's views on Mark Twain.

3. Describe the following under the category of what Mencken calls "'The Lesser Arts": a) oil painting, b) drama.

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

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

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

7. Summarize Mencken's views on inspiration, as recounted in Chapter 25.

8. What memorable position does Mencken take on opera?

9. In Chapter 19, Mencken discusses science. Discuss his views of a) the scientific hypothesis, b) Charles Darwin, and c) Mr. Ayres' and his philosophy.

10. What opinion does Mencken render about the Black Plague that decimated Europe in the Middle Ages?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

1) Discuss Mencken's view of socialism. What effect has socialism has on the world?

2) Compare and contrast Mencken's view of capitalism with that of socialism.

3) Relate Mencken's view of human nature with his view of economics. How do the tendencies and reality of the human condition affect the effectiveness of economical models, for Mencken?

Essay Topic 2

Chapter 22 is dedicated to "Utopian Flights."

1) What is a "Utopian Flight" as Mencken has described it? How does the notion of the Utopian flight relate to Mencken's view of human nature? How does the notion relate to Mencken's view of government?

2) Summarize Mencken's suggestion for choosing legislators. Discuss the mechanics of this system, and its supposed benefits.

3) Summarize Mencken's suggestion for "special laws" to be applied to government officials. Discuss the mechanics of this system, and its supposed benefits.

Essay Topic 3

Chapter 17 is titled "Pedagogy".

1) Summarize Mencken's view of the teaching profession.

2) How does Mencken compare and contrast the teaching methods of yesteryear with contemporary methods?

3) What is the contemporary state of schoolboys? Why do they suffer?

4) What suggestions does Mencken have for improving education?

(see the answer keys)

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