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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. How does David interpret Nic's glance over his shoulder as the two drive up to St. Helena Hospital?

2. Studies have shown that what elements "change an addict's vital signs" (206)?

3. David recalls a time when ten years prior, Nic had panicked while doing what activity?

4. In what area of the United States is St. Helena Hospital located?

5. The program into which Nic checks at Hazelden will last at least how long?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the main element of twelve-step recovery programs that Nic rejects?

2. What new hobby does Nic take up around the time when David regains his memory after surviving a cerebral hemorrhage?

3. What do the majority of experts recommend with regard to the length of a rehab stay and the need for after-care?

4. Discuss examples of contingency management strategies that have been shown to be effective in managing addiction.

5. What element does Sheff name as "the bitterest irony of early sobriety" (228)?

6. What are the definitions of priming and cuing, behaviors that can lead to relapse?

7. For what reason does Sheff warn the parents of addicted children to avoid certain music?

8. What major medical emergency befalls David Sheff just before Nic's eighteenth birthday?

9. How late is Nic when he sets a lunch date with his father at the restaurant Steps of Rome?

10. For what purpose does Sheff use the shark and the cormorant simile?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine David Sheff’s use of characterization methods to portray his own family members. What effect do these characterization methods have on the memoir's inherent themes and messages?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Sheff's decision to include humor within the text of his memoir Beautiful Boy. What purpose did Sheff have in mind when including these instances of humor and how does the inclusion of these instances support the overarching themes and messages of the text?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the significance of the final passages included at the end of David Sheff's memoir Beautiful Boy.

(see the answer keys)

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