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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why do "handsome men" deserve suspicion?

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

3. Who is the editor of this volume?

4. According to Mencken, the intellectual tradition of Whitman and Emerson had been transferred to which man?

5. Which boat captain helped Mencken while in Cuba?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Mencken answer the question of whether successful men should have mistresses?

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

3. According to Mencken, why would a Christian man not cheat on his wife, according to "The Libertine"?

4. How must men react to a woman's allure?

5. According to Mencken, why do so many people lie?

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

7. Why was 1880s Baltimore such a loud town?

8. Why did Mencken criticize Woodrow Wilson?

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

10. What was the nature of Mencken's first memory, as described in "Introduction to the Universe"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Mencken mused about death in "Exeunt Omnes."

A) What was the aspect of death which interested Mencken the most?

B) How might "Exeunt Omnes" help us understand Mencken's anti-war stance? How does Mencken's attitude toward death relate to his anti-war stance?

C) Per Mencken's own apparent attitude, what might Mencken tell his readers is the best attitude to have toward death and mortality?

Essay Topic 2

Like any accomplished columnist, Mencken knew how to tell a good story, as in "The Noble Experiment" and "The Hills of Zion."

A) What agenda, if any, did Mencken have in sharing the stories of "The Noble Experiment"? Use examples from the text.

B) What agenda, if any, did Mencken have in sharing the story of "The Hills of Zion"? Use examples from the text.

Essay Topic 3

Religion was the frequent target of Mencken's attacks, such as in "Quid Est Veritas?" and "Holy Writ."

A) Why is religion dangerous, according to Mencken? Cite specific examples in the texts.

B) Can religion be salvaged somehow, to Mencken's mind, or is religion universally bad?

C) Describe fundamentalism, and discuss how fundamentalism factors in to Mencken's religious views.

(see the answer keys)

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