View a FREE sample

This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through 35-39.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What did Gene the magistrate do with respect to an old man in his court accused of wife beating?
(a) Gene threatened the man with made-up punishments to get him to reform.
(b) Gene had the court bailiff beat the man, just as he had beat his wife.
(c) Gene applauded the man for keeping his wife well-behaved.
(d) Gene put him in jail for two years.

3. According to Mencken, why was Samuel Johnson unique as an artist?
(a) He has a particularly thrilling prose style.
(b) He always gave to charity, and artists are infamous misers.
(c) He never cared about his own fame or legacy.
(d) He never turned against his country, unlike all artists.

4. Which of the following is NOT a trait of the writer, according to Mencken in "The Author at Work"?
(a) The writer is starved for attention.
(b) The writer is a social creature.
(c) The writer is in it for the money.
(d) The writer is a hypochondriac.

5. What was unique to the American psyche according to Mencken in "Libido for the Ugly"?
(a) An obsession with staying thin.
(b) A tendency to be rude and loud during movie screenings.
(c) A queer fascination with ugliness.
(d) Sexual arousal when viewing art objects.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is democracy's "aim," according to Mencken?

2. What was "The Art Eternal" according to Mencken?

3. How did Mencken appraise Valentino in their dinner meeting?

4. What was the source of Oliver Wendell Holmes' allure?

5. What one thing did Mencken feel was useful from the contributions of Sigmund Freud?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 427 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample