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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. Where is Renton's brother serving his military tour?

2. How does Tommy react to the row at the nearby table in Her Man?

3. About what does Sick Boy constantly brag as the boys arrive at a club?

4. Who throws the glass in The Glass?

5. Why is getting a cab to Swannie's a difficulty in The Skag Boys?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Stevie have a wonderful New Years despite getting punched?

2. How does Renton play his interviewer in Speedy Recruitment?

3. Describe the incident in The Glass.

4. How does Renton meet Dianne?

5. Why is Tommy worried about his girlfriend in Scotland Takes Drugs in Psychic Defense?

6. What do all of the Junk Dilemmas have in common?

7. How do Begbie and Renton pass the time on the train in Inner Shitty?

8. How does Renton prepare to come off of junk in The First Day of the Edinburgh Festival?

9. How does Spud get in a brawl in Na Na and Other Nazis?

10. How do Spud and Renton commiserate at the club?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Trainspotting is a novel that exists resolutely in the nitty-gritty of working-class squalor. As such, Welsh regularly employs filthy and scatological imagery. Write an essay about three such instances. What is the nature of the filth portrayed? How does it relate to the narrative and themes of the novel? Is it presented straight or with humor, and do you think it is necessary or effective?

Part 1) The First Day of the Edinburgh Festival

Part 2) Traditional English Breakfast

Part 3) Eating Out

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay about women in Trainspotting. Choose three women and discuss their place in the coterie of junkies and loser who comprise the center of the novel. How do they become attached to the group? Are they repelled by the drug-use or part of it? What do they lose within the group and what do they gain? Are any of them particularly well-defined as individuals?

Essay Topic 3

Selfishness is a constant theme of Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting. Individuals forge friendships and relationships, but they hold their own self-interest far ahead of anyone else's well-being. Write an essay on the topic of selfishness, in three parts:

Part 1) Who does Sick Boy use over the course of Trainspotting? Discuss his relationship with Alison, his role as a pimp, and his treatment of Renton in his time of need. What goals does Sick Boy have as an individual, and who does he betray to achieve them?

Part 2) Discuss the role of Frank Begbie in the novel. Who does he use in order to find profit and pleasure in his life? What does he leave behind in order to live life unfettered? How does this reflect his values and objectives?

Part 3) In summation, discuss the final chapter of the novel. How and why does Renton betray all of his friends? What does he gain? How does he justify this betrayal in the closing moments of the novel?

(see the answer keys)

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