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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. What is different about the narrative voice in Growing Up in Public from previous chapters?

3. What playwright does Renton talk to the English girls in In Overdrive about?

4. In Junk Dilemma No. 63, to what does Renton compare his heroin high?

5. Who strikes the first blow in the brawl in Na Na and Other Nazis?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. How do Renton and Sick Boy pick up girls in In Overdrive?

4. What is the cause of the brawl in Her Man?

5. Describe the incident in The Glass.

6. How does Sick Boy dictate activities in The Skag Boys?

7. Describe Renton and Spuds' tiff and reconciliation in this chapter.

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Trainspotting, in many ways, resembles a collection of short stories. It follows several key characters but occasionally diverts to a seemingly unrelated narrative. Write an essay about two of these chapters:

Part 1) Describe the narrative of Grieving and Mourning in Port Sunshine. How are these characters connected to the other characters of the rest of the novel? Thematically, what is discusses in the chapter, and how does this relate to other chapters?

Part 2) Discuss the narrative of Bad Blood. Who is Davie, and how has he appeared in the rest of the novel? Describe the themes covered in Davie's story, and how the tone of the piece fits with the rest of the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Trainspotting's prose often resembles a series of amusing or pathetic anecdotes related over a pint at a pub. Write an essay discussing how Welsh subverts the frame of the pub story. How does he intermingle the prurient with the profound? In the structure of the novel, how do individual anecdotes add up to something more in concert together? What is the end result of these tales?

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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