View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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 prostitute bribed the policeman.
(c) A man clearly beat his wife, but could not be technically arrested.
(d) They learned about a corrupt policeman, and had to decide whether to turn the man in.

2. What was Mencken's nickname for Chesapeake Bay?
(a) The big blue.
(b) The protein factory.
(c) Home of the yummy lobsters.
(d) Crab central.

3. What was the name of H. L. Mencken's brother?
(a) Mitch.
(b) Bud.
(c) Jesse.
(d) Charlie.

4. Who was the president of Cuba when Mencken visited the country in "Gore in the Caribees"?
(a) Teodorio.
(b) Leonhard.
(c) Jose Miguel.
(d) Menocal.

5. What one thing did Mencken feel was useful from the contributions of Sigmund Freud?
(a) The notion that "mother issues" were deeply-seated.
(b) The notion that dreams could reveal aspects of our everyday lives.
(c) The notion that people could be easily hypnotized.
(d) The notion that lying stemmed from an unconscious place.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which was NOT a source of terrible smell in the Baltimore of the 1880s, according to Mencken?

2. Which decade, according to the author, was Mencken at his best?

3. What does Mencken state about the literary influence(s) of Theodore Dreiser?

4. Which is NOT a reason Mencken gives for admiring Theodore Dreiser?

5. Which is one of the stated reasons the editor put the volume together?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 353 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample