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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which book was Mencken's touchstone into literature?
(a) Alexander Dumas' The Three Musketeers.
(b) Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn.
(c) Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
(d) Thomas Paine's Common Sense.

2. Who was the president of Cuba when Mencken visited the country in "Gore in the Caribees"?
(a) Teodorio.
(b) Jose Miguel.
(c) Leonhard.
(d) Menocal.

3. What was the subject of the first Mencken-written article that was ever published?
(a) Political discontent in Europe.
(b) A horse robbery.
(c) The gold standard.
(d) A high-society party.

4. In "Gore in the Caribees," what was Mencken's perspective on the revolution in Cuba?
(a) Mencken thought it is newsworthy, and he asks to cover it.
(b) Mencken was fervently pro-Cuba, and travels to the country to engage in propaganda.
(c) Mencken thought the event is not newsworthy, and only reluctantly does he travel to cover it.
(d) Mencken refused to cover the event, and is fired by his newspaper.

5. According to "The Skeptic," what do women always bear?
(a) A healthy mistrust of their husbands.
(b) The burden of caring for families.
(c) The strength of their religious convictions.
(d) A strong sense of household finances.

6. What did Mencken feel about "American thinking"?
(a) It is timid and superficial.
(b) It is full of awesome promise.
(c) It is bold and visionary.
(d) It is cautious, yet optimistic.

7. According to Mencken, the intellectual tradition of Whitman and Emerson had been transferred to which man?
(a) Theodore Dreiser.
(b) Jose Miguel Gomez.
(c) William Jennings Bryan.
(d) Van Wyck Brooks.

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

9. Why do "handsome men" deserve suspicion?
(a) They are terrible conversationalists.
(b) They are always self-serving and vain.
(c) They are "ugly" inside.
(d) The human body is inherently ugly.

10. What is democracy's "aim," according to Mencken?
(a) To ensure great wealth for all.
(b) To indoctrinate everyone in religious "poppycock."
(c) To protect the children of a society.
(d) To pull everyone down to the same level.

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

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

13. In "Pater Patriae," which was NOT one of the reasons Mencken admired George Washington?
(a) He could cuss up a storm.
(b) He was tough-living, and whiskey-drinking.
(c) He put his trust and authority in intellectuals and lawyers.
(d) He was not convinced of the wisdom of common people.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Recollections of Notable Cops," why does Mencken find the idea of a police academy remarkable?

2. Which of the following could NOT be used to describe Mencken's tone in "Star-Spangled Man"?

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

4. What was the name of H. L. Mencken's brother?

5. What did Mencken think about Woodrow Wilson's biography of George Washington?

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