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H. L. Mencken

This person is the elitist, combative, opinionated author of the articles in the book.

Common Folk

Mencken characterizes these people as low-born half-wits without the ability to govern themselves.

Aristocracy

In direct contrast to the lower class, members of this class of people are noble, wise, courageous, intellectual, and appreciative of the arts, according to Mencken.

Charlie

This person was a beat cop during Mencken's formative years as a junior reporter.

Gene the Magistrate

This person was a judge admired for his unusual approach to justice, such as threatening an old man with hanging or a beating for harming his wife.

Theodore Dreiser

According to Mencken, this author's prose is boring and prosaic, but he does merge realism and romanticism seamlessly.

Menocal

This person is the president of Cuba in the early 1900s, whom Mencken meets while covering the revolution there.

Henry Cabot Lodge

This...

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