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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. Who is the drunk in Trainspotting at Leith Central Station?

2. Which relative of Spud's interrupts the celebration in Courting Disaster?

3. In Courting Disaster, why does Billy want to stay close to his wife?

4. How does Sick Boy kill the dog in Deid Dugs?

5. In Courting Disaster, Renton claims to have a passion for what philosopher?

Short Essay Questions

1. What demand does Renton's father make of Renton on his second day in bed?

2. How does Billy Renton die?

3. What does Dr. Forbes uncover about Renton's addiction in Searching for the Inner Man?

4. Why does Renton's father warn him in Bang to Rites?

5. What does Renton learn about Sick Boy in the celebration in Courting Disaster?

6. Describe Sick Boy's escapade in Deid Dugs.

7. How does the trial of Courting Disaster turn out for Renton and Spud?

8. How does Matty die?

9. Why does Renton feel bad at the end of The Elusive Mr. Hunt?

10. What uncharacteristic moment occurs with Renton in Straight Dilemmas No. 1?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the character of Tommy. To what extent is he the most sadly innocent of the central figures in Trainspotting? What are his drugs of choice at the beginning of the novel? What does he want from life, and how does this lead him to heroin? Discuss the extent to which Tommy' story is the most cautionary of those regarding the consequences of drug use.

Essay Topic 2

The lingering fear of the heroin culture of Trainspotting is HIV/AIDS. Write an essay discussing the way AIDS affects the lives of three characters in the novel. How does each character contract the syndrome? Does he maintain his health? Is he alive at the end of the novel? Discuss the methods this character uses to cope with AIDS.

Part 1) Davie

Part 2) Tommy

Part 3) Matty

Essay Topic 3

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?

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