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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Per "Mr. Justice Holmes," which of the following might Mencken say about the legislature as a state organization?
(a) It is run by the aristocracy.
(b) Despite its flaws, it always acts in the interest of the people.
(c) It is immune to corruption.
(d) It is subject to special interests and blackmail.

2. Why was early Christianity superior to modern Christianity, per "Holy Writ"?
(a) Early Christianity had a less strict interpretation of Biblical stories.
(b) It featured a lot less sermonizing.
(c) It featured more moral instructions.
(d) Services took place in cold places, to ensure better concentration.

3. What was the general atmosphere of the Democratic National Convention of 1932, as reported by Mencken?
(a) Stuffy and mannered.
(b) Like Mafia men meeting at a restaurant, as the politicians are all corrupt.
(c) Quiet, like a gentlemen's club.
(d) A complete circus.

4. What theoretical scenario did Mencken pose in "The Calamity of Appomattox"?
(a) Mencken imagines if the Civil War had never taken place, and the South had slaves to this day.
(b) Mencken imagines a world in which the deli counter always got his sandwich order right.
(c) Mencken imagines if Europe had never recovered from World War I, and was a smoldering ruin.
(d) Mencken imagines if the North had surrendered in the Civil War instead of the South.

5. How did Mencken appraise Valentino in their dinner meeting?
(a) Valentino was a noble soul questioning his vulgar acting profession.
(b) Valentino was a brute who did not deserve his fame or money.
(c) Valentino was a genius who would be better suited as a scientist or engineer.
(d) Valentino was a ham actor of the highest order.

6. What memorable simile did Mencken use for Grover Cleveland?
(a) Cleveland was like a newborn babe gazing at the stars for the first time.
(b) Cleveland was like a steel ship loaded with monoliths of granite.
(c) Cleveland was like a fragile butterfly with wings of dynamite.
(d) Cleveland was like a crocodile waiting to snap his jaws around the American public.

7. What is wrong, in Mencken's opinion, with most artists' depictions of death?
(a) They are obsessed with death in battle, when death usually happens in the bathtub.
(b) They never show women dying, only men.
(c) They show death to be dramatic and heroic, which is false.
(d) They show death to be pathetic and ridiculous, which is false.

8. How did Mencken describe the music of Puccini?
(a) "Two embalmers at work upon a minor poet."
(b) "Two intertwined dogs yapping at each other."
(c) "Silver macaroni, exquisitely tangled."
(d) "A dozen wind chimes in a hurricane."

9. What was the subject of Mencken's final published article?
(a) A court case tinged with racism.
(b) A horse robbery.
(c) The "newest quackery" of household appliances.
(d) The murder of an adulterous housewife.

10. Which of the following is a trait of the Anglo-Saxon race, per "The Anglo-Saxon"?
(a) Cultural superiority.
(b) Weak will.
(c) Intelligence.
(d) Bravery.

11. Which of the following is NOT something that exists as a result of the Anglo-Saxon race, according to Mencken?
(a) A tradition of cultural superiority.
(b) Fundamentalism.
(c) The slaughter of American Indians.
(d) The Ku Klux Klan.

12. Why did Mencken curse those who translated the Bible into English?
(a) They made a host of grammatical errors.
(b) They made many factual errors.
(c) They made the prose overly flowery and beautiful.
(d) They misinterpreted the principles of Jesus Christ.

13. Which was NOT a reason Mencken used in his assessment that houses are ugly in "The Libido for the Ugly"?
(a) The houses were painted yellow.
(b) The houses were structurally misshapen.
(c) The houses had awkward, skinny chimneys.
(d) The houses were shabby and dilapidated.

14. What did Mencken call for in "Mencken's Last Stand"?
(a) For the world to leave him alone.
(b) An end to segregation.
(c) For president Harry S. Truman to resign.
(d) A more intelligent approach to chiropractic.

15. What was Mencken's attitude toward Grover Cleveland?
(a) Smug pity.
(b) Enjoyment at his suffering.
(c) Contempt for his policies.
(d) Great admiration.

Short Answer Questions

1. What aspect of death did Mencken find most interesting?

2. Who was Mencken with at a Bach concert in Pennsylvania when he decided to get some liquor?

3. Who started chiropractic, according to Mencken?

4. Who were the two attorneys in the Scopes monkey trial?

5. How did Mencken describe the music of Bach?

(see the answer keys)

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