View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to Mencken, what was Christianity's history with lying?
(a) Every sermon uttered by a priest is a lie.
(b) Lying is not expressly forbidden, and is oftentimes even encouraged.
(c) One must lie to oneself in order to adhere to religious beliefs.
(d) Lying is a great sin before God.

2. What was Alistair Cooke's relationship to H. L. Mencken?
(a) A poet whom Mencken greatly admires.
(b) A political enemy.
(c) A childhood acquaintance.
(d) A journalist and friend.

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

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

5. According to Mencken, what kind of books did Theodore Dreiser produce?
(a) Breezy, summer-day reading.
(b) Books more important as museum pieces than texts that should be read.
(c) Wheezing, moralizing diatribes.
(d) Weighty, substantial tomes that one must concentrate on for a long time.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was the nature of the Prince of Wales story Mencken tells in "The Art Eternal"?

2. According to the editor, why were the 1930s Mencken's "downfall"?

3. What must modern religions do to "escape absurdity"?

4. What was "The Art Eternal" according to Mencken?

5. What do saints have in common with scientists?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 401 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample