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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. How do common folk read the Bible, according to Mencken in "Holy Writ"?
(a) They read it, but find nothing to relate to their personal experience.
(b) They are fooled by its beautiful prose, and pay no attention to the ideas behind the words.
(c) They find it hilarious, for some strange reason.
(d) They don't read the Bible at all, and are illiterate fools.

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

3. Why, according to Mencken, do virtuous people end up sinning the worst?
(a) The virtuous don't know how to handle sin, and thus get carried away.
(b) Virtuous people give of themselves so much, they are empty inside.
(c) To be "virtuous" is a lie: the virtuous are among the most sinful among us.
(d) Virtuous people do difficult work, and this work drives them insane.

4. What was the source of Oliver Wendell Holmes' allure?
(a) His ability to stick to the facts and write sound legal opinions.
(b) His eloquent, epigrammatic writing style.
(c) His ability to bribe officials at every level of government.
(d) His personal charisma and sometimes outrageous court antics.

5. According to "The New Architecture," when will Man have "built his own prison"?
(a) When he replaces Gothic architecture with Modernist architecture.
(b) When new architecture is replaced by neoclassical architecture.
(c) When Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is not heralded as a champion of new design.
(d) When people build houses using the style of English Eighteenth Century.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was the point of the section, "Sententiae"?

2. Which of the following is a trait of the Anglo-Saxon race, per "The Anglo-Saxon"?

3. Which of the following describes an Anglo-Saxon soldier, according to Mencken?

4. Who did Mencken NOT count among the "crackpots" present in "The Wallace Paranoia"?

5. How did Mencken describe the music of Puccini?

Short Essay Questions

1. What stance did Mencken take in "Mencken's Last Stand"?

2. How did Mencken distinguish between plutocracy and aristocracy in "A Glance Ahead"?

3. What examples did Mencken provide to support his judgment of Anglo-Saxons?

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

5. What did Mencken conclude about his research into the court cases of Oliver Wendell Holmes?

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

7. For what reasons did Mencken admire Grover Cleveland?

8. What was Mencken's opinion of chiropractic?

9. According to Mencken in "The Calamity of Appomattox," what would have happened if the Civil War had never happened?

10. According to "The Author at Work," why do writers write?

(see the answer keys)

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