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. Who started chiropractic, according to Mencken?

2. What was unique to the American psyche according to Mencken in "Libido for the Ugly"?

3. Which is the best style of architecture, according to Mencken?

4. In "Travail," how did the boys going to school in the morning seem to Mencken?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. Contemporaries wrote that Calvin Coolidge bore several similarities to Abraham Lincoln. Why did Mencken disagree with this claim?

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

6. What opinions did Mencken render in "Masters of Tone"?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)

This section contains 978 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample