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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. What is Mencken's central critique for socialism?

2. What is the crux of Mr. Ayres' philosophical argument that Mencken criticizes?

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

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

5. What two types of poetry does Mencken believe are the only viable ones?

Short Essay Questions

1. Summarize Mencken's views on Mark Twain.

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

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

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

5. Summarize Mencken's account of a Jack Dempsey boxing match.

6. How does Mencken compare socialism to capitalism? Include the Bolshevik Revolution in your response.

7. What should poetry ideally be, according to Mencken? What makes for a good poem? And how does taste in poetry reflect upon a person's qualities?

8. Summarize Mencken's account of the Scopes Monkey Trial and his impression of the town of Dayton, Tennessee.

9. Summarize Mencken's view of Ludwig van Beethoven.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Chapters 5 and 6, Mencken discusses morality, and crime and punishment, respectively.

1) Discuss Mencken's belief about the origin of morality, and how it evolved. Can morality change, or is it static?

2) Discuss Mencken's thoughts about Christian morality in general.

3) Discuss Mencken's opinion of contemporary forms of punishment for committed crimes. What is the role of punishment?

Essay Topic 2

In Chapter 15 Mencken describes several "Odd Fish." Discuss and summarize the relevance of the following:

1) Mr. Gray

2) Valentino

3) Sister Aimee

4) Charles Joseph Bonaparte

Why are these people "Odd Fish" in Mencken's opinion? What is "normal" versus "odd" for Mencken? How does this classification reflect upon Mencken's overall view of human nature?

Essay Topic 3

Describe in-depth Mencken's views of the following people (and specific works, if applicable):

1) Mark Twain

2) William Dean Howells

3) Edgar Allan Poe

4) Ralph Waldo Emerson

5) Walt Whitman

6) Ambrose Bierce

(see the answer keys)

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