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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 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) Sexual arousal when viewing art objects.
(d) A queer fascination with ugliness.

2. Which of the following might Mencken say about Calvin Coolidge?
(a) Coolidge pulled himself up from the most meager of upbringings.
(b) Coolidge was deeply flawed, precisely because of his Presbyterian upbringing.
(c) Coolidge was as energetic a man as ever graced the White House.
(d) Coolidge was a practical agnostic.

3. In "Travail," how did the boys going to school in the morning seem to Mencken?
(a) Tired and sad.
(b) Like they might someday conquer the world.
(c) Energetic and hopeful.
(d) Upbeat and joyous.

4. What was Mencken's phrase for religious fundamentalism?
(a) "The Shepherd's Porridge."
(b) "The Fluff of the Flock."
(c) "Ye Olde Honest Truth."
(d) "That Old-Time Religion."

5. Complete the following aphorism found in "Sententiae": "Democracy is..."
(a) "...the application of love to money. Everybody's love."
(b) "...the weapon waved by the fairer sex."
(c) "...the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard."
(d) "...the Declaration of Independence after a trip to the dentist for a full root canal."

Short Answer Questions

1. Which was NOT a reason Mencken used in his assessment that houses are ugly in "The Libido for the Ugly"?

2. How was Mencken able to get a taxi driver to drive him to a speakeasy in Pennsylvania?

3. What city was featured in "The Libido for the Ugly"?

4. What might Mencken say was Grover Cleveland's defining trait?

5. Which of the following was NOT a name applied to William Jennings Bryan by Mencken?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was the content of "Sententiae"?

2. Did Mencken's aesthetics conform to the ideals of the "new architecture"? Explain.

3. What opinion did Mencken have about the English translation of the Bible?

4. Why did Mencken miss corporal punishment in schools in "Travail"?

5. What aspect of death interested Mencken the most?

6. What opinions did Mencken render in "Masters of Tone"?

7. What opinion was rendered about William Jennings Bryan in "In Memoriam: W.J.B."?

8. Why are artists "anti-patriotic," according to Mencken in "The Artist"?

9. What caused Mencken to question the American psyche in "The Libido for the Ugly"?

10. What was Mencken's opinion of stage acting?

(see the answer keys)

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