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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 was Theodore Dreiser compared to Franz Schubert by Mencken?

2. What was Mencken's criticism for Lincoln's Gettysburg Address?

3. Why do "handsome men" deserve suspicion?

4. Who was the president of Cuba when Mencken visited the country in "Gore in the Caribees"?

5. What is a man's usual response to beauty?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. According to Mencken, Theodore Dreiser had what emotional effect on the reader?

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

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

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

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

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

8. What circumstances drove Mencken away from attending the Y. M. C. A.?

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

10. Why did Alistair Cooke feel that Mencken experienced a "downfall" in the 1930s?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Abraham Lincoln was the subject of a long essay. Discuss the logic and structure of Mencken's argument in regards to Abraham Lincoln. What premise does Mencken assume? What is his thesis? What evidence does he use to support his thesis, and what logic does he employ?

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

Man-woman relationships were a frequent topic of study, as in "The Art Eternal" and "The Incomparable Buzz-Saw." How does Mencken view the dynamic between men and women? What are the differences between men and women? In what way do men and women engage in courtship?

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