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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. Why is Tommy's concert purchase a poor decision in Scotland Takes Drugs in Psychic Defense?

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

3. What substance does Mike Forrester give Renton instead of smack in The First Day of the Edinburgh Festival?

4. In Victory on New Year's Day, who is soon coming to stay at Stevie's flat?

5. Why can Davie not remember where he is at the beginning of Traditional English Breakfast?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Renton meet Dianne?

2. How does Tommy fall into the heroin lifestyle in Cock Problems?

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

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

5. How does Renton almost lose his opium suppositories in The First Day of the Edinburgh Festival?

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

7. How does Davie ruin breakfast in Traditional English Breakfast?

8. How does Begbie respond to the groups when they don't want to rob a tourist?

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

10. What happens to the communal pot in Grieving and Mourning in Port Sunshine?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The narration of Trainspotting alternates between first and third person. Write an essay about these transitions and the difference between the two types of narrative. How does Welsh use different verbiage for each type of perspective? Discuss how each type of point-of-view reflects a different tone and intent? How do the first-person sections vary from one another depending on who is speaking?

Essay Topic 2

In many respects, Trainspotting is less the story of a person or group of people than it is a tapestry of a community. Write an essay about the community of Trainspotting. How is the Leith fellowship in the novel a central character? What literary tactics does Welsh use to sweep through the full community? How do individuals emerge from the rabble and then disappear into it again?

Essay Topic 3

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

(see the answer keys)

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