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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. Nic decides that his choice of college had been a mistake and that he would do better at what type of college?

2. David asserts that he and Vicki are "among the first generation of" (19) what kind of parents?

3. In what year was methamphetamine first synthesized?

4. Nic and a friend make prank phone calls they have learned how to make by watching what television show?

5. After listing a myriad of impressions at which Nic is skilled, David says that Nic's best impression is of whom?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the first altercation between David and Nic about Nic's use of substances?

2. How is the theme of duality demonstrated in David's discussion of Nic's behavior with his younger siblings?

3. Which of Nic's childhood heroes commits suicide?

4. What is the cause of David's resentment toward Nic, even though David knows that he has an illness?

5. What advice do many "drug counselors tell parents" of David's "generation" (52) with respect to drug use and honesty?

6. What is the strongest evidence of Nic's negative feelings about his parents' divorce?

7. Describe the setting depicted in the introduction.

8. What positive effects of marijuana does David describe in his own life?

9. What negative milestone takes place in Nic's life takes place just before Nic's eighteenth birthday?

10. What is the author's purpose for using a quote from The Tempest as an epigraph for Part II?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Sheff's use of the first person point of view serve the author's purposes over the course of the memoir Beautiful Boy? Discuss how the author's choice of point of view helps to advance the treatment of at least three particular themes within the text.

Essay Topic 2

What ultimate message is David Sheff's memoir Beautiful Boy sending about the nature and value of compassion?

Essay Topic 3

How is the theme of deception portrayed in David Sheff’s memoir? Examine the author's treatment of and messages regarding deception throughout the work.

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