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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. What aspect of man-woman relationships are the movies incorrect about, according to Mencken?

2. What was "The Art Eternal" according to Mencken?

3. What must modern religions do to "escape absurdity"?

4. In "The Baltimore of the Eighties," why does Mencken's mother lament about a trip to the market?

5. In "Gore in the Caribees," how was Jose Miguel captured?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the difference between men and women in regards to trust, according to "The Skeptic"?

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

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

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

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

6. What was Mencken's remedy for curing the ills of modern religions?

7. What was the chief problem of a Baltimore summer, according to Mencken in "The Baltimore of the Eighties"?

8. What questions did Mencken raise about the contemporary understanding of Abraham Lincoln?

9. What criticisms did Mencken have for Theodore Dreiser?

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

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

In articles like "The Baltimore of the Eighties," Mencken looks back on his childhood. What attitude does Mencken have toward childhood? How did his childhood impact the man he became? Why is it valuable to take this look back?

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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