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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through 24-28.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What moral choice faced Mencken and a cop on New Year's Day, in "Recollections of Notable Cops"?
(a) A man clearly beat his wife, but could not be technically arrested.
(b) They learned about a corrupt policeman, and had to decide whether to turn the man in.
(c) A dead man was found with a large sum of money in his pocket.
(d) A prostitute bribed the policeman.

2. According to Mencken, what was the Union fighting for in the Civil War?
(a) Self-governance.
(b) Profit.
(c) Freedom.
(d) Against the notion of self-determinism.

3. Which is NOT a reason Mencken gives for admiring Theodore Dreiser?
(a) Dreiser's insistence on describing every detail of a scene.
(b) Dreiser's unchanging subject matter and style.
(c) Dreiser's unique place in the world of literature.
(d) The ability for Dreiser to touch a reader on an emotional level.

4. Which of the following could NOT be used to describe Mencken's tone in "Star-Spangled Man"?
(a) Sentimental.
(b) Tongue-in-cheek.
(c) Hyperbolic.
(d) Sarcastic.

5. Why do "handsome men" deserve suspicion?
(a) They are "ugly" inside.
(b) The human body is inherently ugly.
(c) They are terrible conversationalists.
(d) They are always self-serving and vain.

Short Answer Questions

1. How was Mencken able to get a taxi driver to drive him to a speakeasy in Pennsylvania?

2. What was the subject of Walt Whitman's "Democratic Vistas"?

3. According to Mencken, what kind of books did Theodore Dreiser produce?

4. Why was early Christianity superior to modern Christianity, per "Holy Writ"?

5. What is a man's usual response to beauty?

(see the answer key)

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