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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 29, Buffooneries, Chapter 30, Sententiae, Chapter 31, Appendix.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does Mencken describe Oliver Wendell Holmes?
(a) He was a brilliant reasoner.
(b) He was a completely inept United States Senator.
(c) He was a tool of liberal elites.
(d) He was a tool of conservative fuddy-duddies.

2. What do most women think of their husbands according to Mencken?
(a) Women fear and loathe their husbands.
(b) Women pity their husbands and consider them asses.
(c) Women are indifferent to their husbands and use them as mere tools.
(d) Women love and respect their husbands.

3. What is Mencken's opinion of the belief that man has a soul, according to Chapter 1?
(a) The notion of a soul is simple, but still very relevant today.
(b) The notion of a soul has failed to result in more people acting like God.
(c) The notion of a soul is humanity's one bright spot.
(d) The notion of a soul has led to unprecedented successes in philosophy and elsewhere.

4. What kind of people are most often forgotten by historical records, per Chapter 12?
(a) The commoners.
(b) Great warriors.
(c) Courageous women.
(d) Respectful and intelligent men.

5. In a story in Chapter 29, what is Yen Li-Shen's occupation?
(a) Writer.
(b) Priest.
(c) Physician.
(d) Pallbearer.

Short Answer Questions

1. How intelligent are women according to Mencken?

2. Which is NOT one of the features Mencken imagines for the Confederacy, had it survived the Civil War?

3. What is the usual relationship between an artist and his countrymen?

4. How does Mencken react to a religious ceremony inside a basilica, as he recounts in Chapter 15?

5. What does Mencken NOT believe about the possibility for morality to change over time?

(see the answer key)

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