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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. Who was Mencken referring to with the title, "A Good Man in a Bad Trade"?

2. In "The Hills of Zion," why did a woman warn against the reading of books?

3. Which of the following was true in regard to statements made by Mencken about chiropractic?

4. How was plutocracy created, according to Mencken?

5. What was the result of Mencken's attempt to trace the lineage of the Anglo-Saxon race?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why are artists "anti-patriotic," according to Mencken in "The Artist"?

2. What opinion did Mencken have about the English translation of the Bible?

3. According to "The Wallace Paranoia," what did candidate Henry Wallace do during the convention of the Progressive Party?

4. What stance did Mencken take in "Mencken's Last Stand"?

5. What caused Mencken to question the American psyche in "The Libido for the Ugly"?

6. What did Mencken conclude about his research into the court cases of Oliver Wendell Holmes?

7. How was FDR able to win the Democratic National Convention of 1932?

8. How did Mencken--with tongue firmly in cheek--try to justify a man's murdering of his wife in "A Good Man Gone Wrong"?

9. What did Mencken feel were the true and most damaging consequences of the Civil War, according to "The Calamity of Appomattox"?

10. In "Exeunt Omnes," Mencken described his second book on death, which has collected sayings and thoughts on death. What did Mencken maintain was the main idea of the book?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Quackery was a favorite subject of Mencken's. What is quackery? Why does Mencken mock it? How does quackery relate to ignorance? In Mencken's view, do those who fall victim to quackery "deserve" their fate?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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