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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. About how many miles separate David from Vicki once she moves away from the Bay Area?

2. Charles's friends from home earn money by smuggling what substance in from the Yucatan before selling it?

3. What is the name of the girl with whom Nic is enamored in sixth grade?

4. Nic decides that his choice of college had been a mistake and that he would do better at what type of college?

5. Nic decides to attend what university?

Short Essay Questions

1. What kinds of contradictory advice does David receive about Nic when Nic is getting into trouble as a teenager?

2. What is the strongest evidence of Nic's negative feelings about his parents' divorce?

3. How do the themes of secrecy and deception emerge within the memoir's introduction?

4. What is Charles's first close call with drugs and how is David involved?

5. What is the symbolism of the word everything?

6. What advice do many "drug counselors tell parents" of David's "generation" (52) with respect to drug use and honesty?

7. How does David Sheff characterize his friend Charles?

8. Describe the setting depicted in the introduction.

9. What pattern does David note in Nic's literary tastes in high school?

10. How does David react when Nic offers him a hit of a marijuana joint when they are out on a walk together?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How is the theme of family bonds portrayed in David Sheff's memoir Beautiful Boy? Examine Sheff's treatment of and messages regarding family bonds throughout the book.

Essay Topic 2

What is Sheff's message regarding the difference between loving behavior, and enabling or co-dependent behavior, and how does he get this message across to the reader?

Essay Topic 3

What ultimate message is David Sheff's memoir Beautiful Boy sending about the nature and value of compassion?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 939 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample