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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through 5-9.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. How was Theodore Dreiser like Joseph Conrad, according to Mencken?
(a) They both had a love of pirate adventures and the sea life.
(b) They both seemed to hate women.
(c) Both men were inherently optimistic.
(d) Both men shared an innate pessimism.

3. What was Theodore Dreiser's national and ethnic background?
(a) German.
(b) American.
(c) Swedish.
(d) French.

4. In "Recollections of Notable Cops," why does Mencken find the idea of a police academy remarkable?
(a) Mencken regards policemen as corrupt, vicious brutes.
(b) Cops in Mencken's younger days were not educated.
(c) Mencken states that police academies are contrary to the ideals of democracy.
(d) Academies usually teach useless skills; police academies teach useful skills.

5. In "The Baltimore of the Eighties," why does Mencken's mother lament about a trip to the market?
(a) The price of crabs had doubled.
(b) The vendors had started charging for roe.
(c) Mencken had stolen some penny candy.
(d) A pickpocket had stolen her purse.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. Charlie the policeman was charged with which task, in "Recollections of Notable Cops"?

3. In which city did Mencken grow up?

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

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

(see the answer key)

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