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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 does Matty's brother want to kill in Memories of Matty?

2. Where is Renton headed at the end of the novel?

3. Why do the women in Feeling Free decide Renton is not that bad at the end of the chapter?

4. How is Nina dressed at the cemetery?

5. Where does Renton go after leaving his friend's flat at the beginning of London Crawling?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Davie take revenge on Alan Venters in Bad Blood?

2. How does the drug deal in Station to Station go down?

3. What precautions does Begbie take after the job in Easy Money for the Professionals?

4. How does Renton interact with his relatives at Billy's wake?

5. Describe Spud's ill-fated night with Laura McEwan.

6. Describe the interchange Renton has with an old schoolmate at the end of this chapter.

7. Why does Begbie become enraged in Trainspotting at Leith Central Station?

8. How does Matty die?

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

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

The characters of Trainspotting are deeply complex. They are capable of horrid actions and desirous of profound love and happiness. Write a three-part essay about three such characters. What hurtful or careless actions does each perpetrate? How does he or she show empathy or love through the novel? Does this person find happiness in the end?

Part 1) Kelly

Part 2) Davie

Part 3) Spud

Essay Topic 2

Heroin is a powerful and all-consuming drug, and according to Renton, it is a life choice. In an essay, discuss the effect trying to get clean from heroin has on the characters of the novel. How does their worldview shift, and what do they use to fill the hole left by the drug? How often do characters relapse in the novel? How often does life crash down on them as a result of the drug?

Essay Topic 3

Trainspotting takes place in a specific time and place: Edinburgh in the mid- to late-eighties. This is a period marked by civil strife between right and left in the era of IRA and Thatcher. Write an essay about three ways in which the political pervades the narrative:

Part 1) Discuss the rivalry between the Hibs and the Hearts. How do these two football clubs represent two ideologies in this era? Which club do the mates of Trainspotting support, and what does this say about their understanding of the United Kingdom?

Part 2) What happens to Spud and his Uncle Dode when they cross paths with skinheads in the novel? Discuss what challenges Dode has faced in Leith and why. How are these challenges typified in this interaction with the skinheads?

Part 3) Discuss Renton's reaction to his brother Billy's death. How does he connect the death to racism and privilege in a stratified United Kingdom? What does Renton feel about Thatcher, Union, and his Glasgow relatives?

(see the answer keys)

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