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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. Mencken provided what colorful phrase to describe a woman's body?

2. How did Gene the magistrate handle an overzealous Methodist clergyman?

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

4. Which was described as Mencken's earliest memory?

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

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

3. Why did Mencken criticize Woodrow Wilson?

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

5. What was Mencken's opinion of Ralph Waldo Emerson's "The American Scholar"?

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

A modern controversy swirled around the issue of whether or not Mencken was a racist.

A) What might the article "Anglo-Saxon" tell us about settling the issue of Mencken's racism?

B) What might the article "The Calamity of Appomattox" tell us about settling the issue of Mencken's racism?

C) How does Mencken's frequent sarcasm and tongue-in-cheek tone complicate this controversy?

Essay Topic 3

What was Mencken's perspective on education? Is there a difference between education done in school, and education derived from "real life" so to speak? How does Mencken view his lack of a college education? What does Mencken see as the problem with modern school-based education?

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