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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. To whom does David attribute Nic's love for film directors such as Godard, Bergman, and Kurosawa?

2. In what year did the FDA classify methamphetamine as a controlled substance?

3. With whom did David first try crystal methamphetamine?

4. Who calls David during Nic's freshman year to tell him he is failing?

5. What drug does David name as the most prevalent one in the schools he had attended?

Short Essay Questions

1. What positive effects of marijuana does David describe in his own life?

2. Discuss Sheff's purpose for providing statistics about methamphetamine use in the introduction.

3. What negative milestone takes place in Nic's life takes place just before Nic's eighteenth birthday?

4. What is the symbolism of the word everything?

5. How is the theme of family bonds depicted within the scene of Daisy's birth?

6. How does David react when he finds a baggie of marijuana in Nic's room?

7. What is the author's purpose for using a quote from The Tempest as an epigraph for Part II?

8. How does David Sheff characterize his friend Charles?

9. What major revelation does David make to the reader upon describing his son's admission of crystal meth use?

10. What approach does David take in his stance with Nic about the topic of illicit drugs?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does David Sheff’s memoir Beautiful Boy utilize irony within the text? Discuss at least three uses of irony within the memoir and explore each instance's connection to larger themes contained within the piece.

Essay Topic 2

How does Sheff's use of the first person point of view serve the author's purposes over the course of the memoir Beautiful Boy? Discuss how the author's choice of point of view helps to advance the treatment of at least three particular themes within the text.

Essay Topic 3

How does Sheff use sensory details in order to paint a vivid portrait of anecdotes included within the text? Discuss at least two scenes that include the use of sensory details and pull quotes from these scenes to support your claims.

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