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

2. What was the nature of the Prince of Wales story Mencken tells in "The Art Eternal"?
(a) The Prince of Wales lied in order to protect the virtues of a woman.
(b) The Prince of Wales framed a murderer he could not imprison by lawful means.
(c) The Prince of Wales stole in order to feed his citizens.
(d) The Prince of Wales begged for alms, in order to display his humility.

3. What cheeky nickname did Mencken give Theodore Dreiser?
(a) The Hindenburg of the novel.
(b) The Frankenstein of the short story.
(c) The Clown Prince of prose.
(d) The Jack Ripper of the novel.

4. What part of Mencken's work is NOT included in the volume?
(a) Mencken's nostalgic musings on Baltimore.
(b) Mencken's political discourse of the 1920s.
(c) Mencken's work on language and grammar.
(d) Mencken's esoteric views on art and art history.

5. According to "The Incomparable Buzz-Saw," what is a woman's only power?
(a) The power to torture a man through love.
(b) The power of a house's pursestrings.
(c) The power over her children.
(d) The power to ruin a man's life with divorce.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Gore in the Caribees," how was Jose Miguel captured?

2. What does Mencken call a man who resists the charms of women?

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

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

5. Who was the president of Cuba when Mencken visited the country in "Gore in the Caribees"?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 384 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample