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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

3. What organization did Mencken's father force him to join at age fourteen?
(a) Y.M.C.A.
(b) The Junior Achievement League.
(c) The Baptist Church.
(d) The Boy Scouts of America.

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

5. According to "Text for Newspaper Days," what is modern journalism missing?
(a) Proper fact checking.
(b) A carefree nature.
(c) Proper attention to art and art history.
(d) Multiple points of view.

Short Answer Questions

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

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

3. According to "Quid Est Veritas?," what kind of religion professes to know God exactly and completely?

4. In "Pater Patriae," which was NOT one of the reasons Mencken admired George Washington?

5. According to Mencken, what kind of books did Theodore Dreiser produce?

(see the answer key)

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