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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 is NOT one of the qualities Mencken ascribes to William Jennings Bryan?

2. What is the problem with trying to punishment a government for not working well?

3. What group of people has been "overestimated" throughout the course of human history?

4. In "female novels," how are males portrayed according to Mencken?

5. What is the "average man's" opinion of government?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Mencken's opinion of George Washington. Why does Mencken admire him? Why doesn't Mencken believe Washington would do well in a contemporary political climate?

2. What is the average person's opinion of government, according to Mencken?

3. Name four historic events Mencken mentions in Chapter 12, and his opinion of them.

4. What does Mencken feel about the relationship between science and religion?

5. What is Mencken's view of monogamy/marriage?

6. In Chapter 1, what comparison does Mencken make between man and animal? Who is "superior"?

7. Who is Professor Thorstein Veblen, and what is Mencken's opinion of him and his work?

8. Describe Mencken's contention that democracy is a "self-limiting disease." What does he mean by that? Is there any good aspects to democracy?

9. What does Mencken see as a popular misconception about death? What is his opinion of suicide?

10. In Chapter 1, how does Mencken's view of humanity coincide with that of the modern scientist?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Chapters 19 and 20 discuss Science and Quackery, respectively.

1) What is Mencken's belief about life on other planets? How have contemporary astronomers made an error on the subject?

2) What criticism does Mencken have about "Mr. Ayres"'s view on science, and how does this criticism relate to Mencken's own view of human nature?

3) What kind of science constitutes "quackery" in Mencken's opinion? How can "real" science be separated from "quack" science? How might Mencken account for the prevalence of quackery?

4) Give a few examples of quack science, as related by Mencken in Chapter 20.

Essay Topic 2

Choose five of the types of people Mencken discusses in Chapter 2 and discuss:

a) The manner in which Mencken describes them

b) What Mencken believes motivates each type of people

c) What the defining characteristics of each type of people are

Essay Topic 3

1) Discuss Mencken's historical involvement in the Scopes Monkey Trial.

2) Summarize Mencken's own account of his attendance of the trial.

3) What was Mencken's impression of the townspeople? Of Clarence Darrow? Of William Jennings Bryan?

4) How does the conflict at the heart of the trial reflect upon Mencken's own values and convictions? Why was the trial so important to Mencken?

(see the answer keys)

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