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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through 10-14.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What human flaw does democracy depend upon, according to Mencken?
(a) Vanity.
(b) Rage.
(c) Greed.
(d) Envy.

2. What did Gene the magistrate do with respect to an old man in his court accused of wife beating?
(a) Gene applauded the man for keeping his wife well-behaved.
(b) Gene had the court bailiff beat the man, just as he had beat his wife.
(c) Gene threatened the man with made-up punishments to get him to reform.
(d) Gene put him in jail for two years.

3. What does Mencken call a man who resists the charms of women?
(a) A most rare beast indeed.
(b) An exceedingly wise stone statue.
(c) A most distinguished gentleman.
(d) A most disgusting cad.

4. Which was NOT a source of terrible smell in the Baltimore of the 1880s, according to Mencken?
(a) The St. Helen's insane asylum.
(b) Wilkins Hair Factory.
(c) The Back Basin.
(d) The glue factory.

5. What was the "last straw" that forced Mencken to quit the organization in #16?
(a) An evangelical teen in the reading room.
(b) The relentless shouting of his gym teacher.
(c) The fact that the running track was rectangular.
(d) A painful accident with the horizontal bar.

Short Answer Questions

1. What, according to Mencken, is "The Incomparable Buzz-Saw"?

2. Which was described as Mencken's earliest memory?

3. In which city did Mencken grow up?

4. According to "The Skeptic," what do women always bear?

5. What organization did Mencken's father force him to join at age fourteen?

(see the answer key)

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