View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How was Mencken able to get a taxi driver to drive him to a speakeasy in Pennsylvania?

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

3. What was Mencken's current opinion of the American South, as revealed in "The Calamity of Appomattox"?

4. What was the point of the section, "Sententiae"?

5. Who started chiropractic, according to Mencken?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was Mencken's opinion of chiropractic?

2. Did Mencken's aesthetics conform to the ideals of the "new architecture"? Explain.

3. Describe the religious service Mencken witnessed in "The Hills of Zion."

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

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

6. What was the content of "Sententiae"?

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

8. Why did Mencken take issue with Oliver Wendell Holmes' final court case?

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

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

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

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 3

Mencken was interested in reviving an American intellectual movement.

A) Who were the forefathers of this movement? What texts are important?

B) What does Mencken feel is the current state of the American intellectual movement?

C) What can be done to further the movement?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 942 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample