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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 was the subject of the first Mencken-written article that was ever published?

2. What does Mencken make synonymous with democracy in "A Blind Spot"?

3. In "Recollections of Notable Cops," why does Mencken find the idea of a police academy remarkable?

4. What was the "last straw" that forced Mencken to quit the organization in #16?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. Why did Mencken criticize Woodrow Wilson?

10. In "A Blind Spot," why was Mencken impervious to the ills of democracy?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Mencken discussed perfection in "The Good Man," and states that every good quality in a man is balanced by a flaw.

A) Does Mencken feel that perfection is possible? How can "The Good Man" be reconciled with something like "A Glance Ahead," in which Mencken imagines an ideal government?

B) Is there a danger in attempting perfection?

C) What might Mencken say about perfection and its relation to organized religion?

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

Mencken could be said to operate from an anti-war stance, as in "Star-Spangled Man."

A) How does Mencken make this bias clear? Cite examples from the text.

B) What is Mencken's opinion of World War I? How was the war started? Why might it have been prevented?

C) Is Mencken's anti-war bias explicit or implicit? Cite examples.

(see the answer keys)

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