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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 must modern religions do to "escape absurdity"?

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

3. Charlie the policeman was charged with which task, in "Recollections of Notable Cops"?

4. What was Theodore Dreiser's national and ethnic background?

5. According to Mencken, what was the Union fighting for in the Civil War?

Short Essay Questions

1. Instead of military generals, who did Mencken wish to award medals to in "Star-Spangled Man"?

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

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

4. Why are "handsome men" suspicious, according to "The Lure of Beauty"?

5. Why did Mencken criticize Woodrow Wilson?

6. What criticisms did Mencken level at General John Pershing?

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

8. What was the nature of Mencken's first-ever printed article?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Mencken often mentions the idea of an American aristocracy, as in "The National Letters." What could an American aristocracy accomplish, to Mencken's mind? How does Mencken's ideas for the aristocracy relate to his opinions about intellectuals versus common people? What kinds of government systems does he compare the aristocracy to?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Democracy was mentioned in "A Blind Spot" and "A Glance Ahead," among other articles. What is Mencken's attitude toward democracy? What are the consequences of a democratic form of government? How does democracy succeed (or fail) because of (or despite) the common people?

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