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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 with at a Bach concert in Pennsylvania when he decided to get some liquor?

2. What did Mencken conclude in his examination of rulings in "Mr. Justice Holmes"?

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

4. According to "The New Architecture," when will Man have "built his own prison"?

5. Who did Mencken NOT count among the "crackpots" present in "The Wallace Paranoia"?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What was the nature of film actor Valentino's problem, as related in "Valentino"?

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

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

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

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

7. How did Mencken distinguish between plutocracy and aristocracy in "A Glance Ahead"?

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

9. What were the general features of Anglo-Saxons, according to Mencken in "The Anglo-Saxon"?

10. For what reasons did Mencken admire Grover Cleveland?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Mencken's style and tone are widely celebrated. Using several examples from the text, discuss Mencken's approach to style and tone. How does Mencken present himself to the reader? Who does he posit as his reader? What rhetorical devices does he use to persuade the reader of his position?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Democracy was mentioned in "A Blind Spot" and "A Glance Ahead," among other articles. What is Mencken's attitude toward democracy? What are the consequences of a democratic form of government? How does democracy succeed (or fail) because of (or despite) the common people?

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