View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What, according to Mencken, is "The Incomparable Buzz-Saw"?

2. What does Mencken call a man who resists the charms of women?

3. What organization did Mencken's father force him to join at age fourteen?

4. What moral choice faced Mencken and a cop on New Year's Day, in "Recollections of Notable Cops"?

5. Which boat captain helped Mencken while in Cuba?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. In "Gore in the Caribees," what becames of the rebel leader, Jose Miguel Gomez?

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

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

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

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

8. Why did Mencken criticize Woodrow Wilson?

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

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

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

The nature of art, and especially of writing, is a subject that concerned Mencken.

A) What argument does Mencken make in "The Artist"? How is this argument related to Mencken's anti-war stance?

B) What argument does Mencken make in "The Author at Work"? How are we to reconcile his argument with the fact that, naturally, Mencken is himself a writer?

Essay Topic 3

Articles such as "Theodore Dreiser" and "Masters of Tone" present Mencken the art critic.

A) What can Mencken's criticisms reveal about his theory of art? Cite specific examples.

B) What can Mencken's criticisms reveal about his own preferences? Can art be objectively excellent, or does it always depend upon the viewer/spectator?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 816 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample