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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 did Mencken satirize in "Quid Est Veritas"?

2. What did Mencken feel about "American thinking"?

3. According to Mencken, what kind of books did Theodore Dreiser produce?

4. What was the subject of Walt Whitman's "Democratic Vistas"?

5. What aspect of man-woman relationships are the movies incorrect about, according to Mencken?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Mencken believe it was advantageous for him to have not attended college?

2. According to Mencken, Theodore Dreiser had what emotional effect on the reader?

3. Why did Alistair Cooke feel that Mencken experienced a "downfall" in the 1930s?

4. Why are "handsome men" suspicious, according to "The Lure of Beauty"?

5. What criticisms did Mencken have for Theodore Dreiser?

6. What was the nature of Mencken's first-ever printed article?

7. In "A Blind Spot," why was Mencken impervious to the ills of democracy?

8. How must men react to a woman's allure?

9. What circumstances drove Mencken away from attending the Y. M. C. A.?

10. What was Mencken's opinion about Henry Cabot Lodge?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Mencken often mentions the idea of an American aristocracy, as in "The National Letters." What could an American aristocracy accomplish, to Mencken's mind? How does Mencken's ideas for the aristocracy relate to his opinions about intellectuals versus common people? What kinds of government systems does he compare the aristocracy to?

Essay Topic 2

Quackery was a favorite subject of Mencken's. What is quackery? Why does Mencken mock it? How does quackery relate to ignorance? In Mencken's view, do those who fall victim to quackery "deserve" their fate?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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