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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 did Mencken feel about "American thinking"?

2. What human flaw does democracy depend upon, according to Mencken?

3. Which is NOT one of the reasons winters were difficult in 1880s Baltimore?

4. What part of Mencken's work is NOT included in the volume?

5. Which was NOT one of the reasons why a Christian wouldn't man cheat on his wife, according to "The Libertine"?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. What was accomplished by Walt Whitman's "Democratic Vistas," according to Mencken?

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

9. Why did Mencken criticize Woodrow Wilson?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Mencken often commented on political figures, such as in "Pater Patriae" and "Lodge."

A) Discuss two articles in which Mencken seems to have a positive opinion of the political figure. What does Mencken's admiration tell us about Mencken?

B) Discuss two articles in which Mencken displays a negative opinion of the political figure. Similar to A), what does Mencken's criticisms tell us about Mencken?

Essay Topic 2

Mencken's style and tone are widely celebrated. Using several examples from the text, discuss Mencken's approach to style and tone. How does Mencken present himself to the reader? Who does he posit as his reader? What rhetorical devices does he use to persuade the reader of his position?

Essay Topic 3

Beauty and ugliness were topics of the articles "The Lure of Beauty" and "The Libido of the Ugly."

A) How does Mencken define beauty? How is beauty related to art criticism?

B) Is beauty objective or subjective? Cite examples in the text of how Mencken might answer this question.

C) How is beauty related to physical attraction?

(see the answer keys)

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