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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why do the majority of people lie, according to Mencken?
(a) They lie for fame.
(b) They are unhappy with their lot in life.
(c) They are fearful of being arrested.
(d) They lie for profit.

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

3. According to Mencken, how did members of the lower class respond to Wilson?
(a) They were attracted to his lofty rhetoric.
(b) They responded to his lower class domestic policies.
(c) They "clapped like fools" at a recent speech.
(d) They threw rotten vegetables at him at the convention.

4. What profession should the truth-teller NOT aspire to, according to Mencken?
(a) The President of the United States.
(b) A bartender.
(c) Owner of a large company.
(d) A jewelry maker.

5. In "Gore in the Caribees," how was Jose Miguel captured?
(a) Jose Miguel was caught while making a terrorist bomb.
(b) He was captured after a fierce battle in which he showed his courage.
(c) He was caught sleeping in a hammock.
(d) Jose Miguel was caught in bed with a prostitute.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Mencken satirize in "Quid Est Veritas"?

2. Why might the Anglo-Saxon race have entered into the Spanish-American war, according to Mencken?

3. What aspect of man-woman relationships are the movies incorrect about, according to Mencken?

4. Why was Theodore Dreiser compared to Franz Schubert by Mencken?

5. How did Gene the magistrate handle an overzealous Methodist clergyman?

(see the answer key)

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