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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. What memorable simile did Mencken use for Grover Cleveland?

2. What happened when Mencken sent a junior reporter to get him liquor during the Republican National Convention?

3. What theoretical scenario did Mencken pose in "The Calamity of Appomattox"?

4. What was NOT a feature of chiropractors, according to "Chiropractic"?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. For what reasons did Mencken admire Grover Cleveland?

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

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

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

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

9. What aspect of death interested Mencken the most?

10. What opinion was rendered about William Jennings Bryan in "In Memoriam: W.J.B."?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Abraham Lincoln was the subject of a long essay. Discuss the logic and structure of Mencken's argument in regards to Abraham Lincoln. What premise does Mencken assume? What is his thesis? What evidence does he use to support his thesis, and what logic does he employ?

(see the answer keys)

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