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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. Which of the following is a trait of the Anglo-Saxon race, per "The Anglo-Saxon"?

2. What was Calvin Coolidge's chief trait, according to Mencken?

3. According to Mencken, why was Samuel Johnson unique as an artist?

4. In "The Wallace Paranoia," who was Mencken referring to with the phrase "raisins in the bread."

5. What was Mencken's opinion of Gothic architecture?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. According to Mencken in "The Calamity of Appomattox," what would have happened if the Civil War had never happened?

5. What was Mencken's opinion of chiropractic?

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

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

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

9. What was Mencken's opinion of stage acting?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In articles like "The Baltimore of the Eighties," Mencken looks back on his childhood. What attitude does Mencken have toward childhood? How did his childhood impact the man he became? Why is it valuable to take this look back?

Essay Topic 2

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 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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