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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did Mencken think about Lincoln's issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation?
(a) Lincoln issued the proclamation in a desperate and emotionally-troubled state.
(b) Lincoln delayed releasing the proclamation until a politically-favorable time.
(c) Lincoln was tricked into issuing the proclamation by business interests.
(d) Lincoln was doing the bidding of "Black Republicans" by releasing the proclamation.

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

3. In "The Baltimore of the Eighties," why does Mencken's mother lament about a trip to the market?
(a) The vendors had started charging for roe.
(b) A pickpocket had stolen her purse.
(c) Mencken had stolen some penny candy.
(d) The price of crabs had doubled.

4. Which boat captain helped Mencken while in Cuba?
(a) Leonhard.
(b) Ignacio.
(c) Demetrio.
(d) Menocal.

5. What aspect of man-woman relationships are the movies incorrect about, according to Mencken?
(a) Men don't like to date women younger than themselves.
(b) There is no such thing as romantic love.
(c) Handsome men are not sought after by women.
(d) Women always begin a romance; men are too cowardly.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to "Text for Newspaper Days," what is modern journalism missing?

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

3. What did Mencken feel about "American thinking"?

4. What kind of presence did Henry Cabot Lodge have, according to Mencken?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Charlie get craftsmen to work at the jail in "Recollections of Notable Cops"?

2. What is democracy's aim, in "A Blind Spot"? What is a crime in the eyes of democracy?

3. Why do men usually marry women who are "basically hideous"?

4. In "Gore in the Caribees," what becames of the rebel leader, Jose Miguel Gomez?

5. What was Mencken's ideal form of government?

6. In "A Blind Spot," why was Mencken impervious to the ills of democracy?

7. Why did Mencken believe it was advantageous for him to have not attended college?

8. What was the nature of Mencken's first-ever printed article?

9. What was Mencken's opinion about Henry Cabot Lodge?

10. Why are "handsome men" suspicious, according to "The Lure of Beauty"?

(see the answer keys)

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