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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through 19-23.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Mencken make synonymous with democracy in "A Blind Spot"?
(a) Puritanism.
(b) Totalitarianism.
(c) Hedonism.
(d) Agnosticism.

2. What profession should the truth-teller NOT aspire to, according to Mencken?
(a) Owner of a large company.
(b) A jewelry maker.
(c) A bartender.
(d) The President of the United States.

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

4. What quotation did Mencken borrow from Theodore Dreiser in "Cavia Cobaya"?
(a) Does a man of moderate means never aspire to great wealth?
(b) Does the average strong, successful man confine himself to one woman?
(c) Does a woman of considerable means ever want for a man of inconsiderable means?
(d) Does the temperate, invulnerable man ever give in to the sins of alcohol?

5. What do saints have in common with scientists?
(a) Both corrupt the truth to suit their best interests.
(b) Both unselfishly serve mankind.
(c) Both simply seek the truth.
(d) Both manipulate public opinion to advance their own position.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Mencken, the intellectual tradition of Whitman and Emerson had been transferred to which man?

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

3. What did Mencken think about Lincoln's issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation?

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

5. What was the subject of the first Mencken-written article that was ever published?

(see the answer key)

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