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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. How had Wallace behaved in "The Wallace Paranoia"?

2. How did Mencken appraise Valentino in their dinner meeting?

3. Per "Mr. Justice Holmes," which of the following might Mencken say about the legislature as a state organization?

4. What was the art discussed in "The Comedian"?

5. What did Mencken mean by the term "Ku Kluxry"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was Mencken's opinion of chiropractic?

2. Why did Mencken miss corporal punishment in schools in "Travail"?

3. What type of people attended the Progressive Party convention of 1948?

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

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

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

7. According to "The Author at Work," why do writers write?

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

9. In "The Noble Experiment," what story did Mencken relate about acquiring alcohol at the Republican National Convention?

10. What aspect of death interested Mencken the most?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Like any accomplished columnist, Mencken knew how to tell a good story, as in "The Noble Experiment" and "The Hills of Zion."

A) What agenda, if any, did Mencken have in sharing the stories of "The Noble Experiment"? Use examples from the text.

B) What agenda, if any, did Mencken have in sharing the story of "The Hills of Zion"? Use examples from the text.

Essay Topic 2

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?

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?

(see the answer keys)

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