Beautiful Boy

by

David Sheff

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Beautiful Boy makes teaching easy.

Daisy Sheff Character Analysis

Daisy is David and Karen’s daughter and Nic and Jasper’s sister. Daisy is 14 years younger than Nic. She understands that her brother is ill but has a difficult time fully grasping what Nic’s addiction means. Daisy and her older brother Jasper both love Nic, but at the same time, Nic’s actions and the worry he causes their parents make Daisy and Jasper afraid of him. The toll that Nic’s addiction takes on them illustrates how addiction not only affects addicts but has severe consequences on their family members as well.

Daisy Sheff Quotes in Beautiful Boy

The Beautiful Boy quotes below are all either spoken by Daisy Sheff or refer to Daisy Sheff. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Addiction, Ruin, and Redemption Theme Icon
).
Chapter 4 Quotes

I look at the three of them and recall a bewildering emotion that I recognized for the first time back when Nic was born. Along with the joy of parenthood, with every child comes a piercing vulnerability. It is at once sublime and terrifying.

Related Characters: David Sheff, Nic Sheff, Karen Barbour, Jasper Sheff, Daisy Sheff
Page Number: 65
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19 Quotes

Jasper responds, “I don’t think he wants to do them, but he can’t help it. It’s like in cartoons when some character has a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. The devil whispers into Nicky’s ear and sometimes it gets too loud so he has to listen to him. The angel is there, too,” Jasper continues, “but he talks softer and Nic can’t hear him.”

Related Characters: Jasper Sheff (speaker), David Sheff, Nic Sheff, Daisy Sheff
Related Symbols: Angel and Devil
Page Number: 227
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 21 Quotes

I have learned that I am all but irrelevant to Nic’s survival. It took my near death, however, to comprehend that his fate—and Jasper’s and Daisy’s—is separate from mine. I can try to protect my children, to help and guide them, and I can love them, but I cannot save them. Nic, Jasper, and Daisy will live, and someday they will die, with or without me.

Related Characters: David Sheff, Nic Sheff, Karen Barbour, Jasper Sheff, Daisy Sheff
Page Number: 255
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 25 Quotes

The phone, when it rings, brings on the same state of panic. I am always worried that there is news of another crisis. Or it’s Nic, and I don’t know if he will be sane or high. Or it won’t be him, and I’ll be disappointed. My body tenses up. Oftentimes during meals or when we’re hanging around in the evening, I let the phone ring until the answering service picks it up, because I don’t want to deal with whatever might be coming. I think that everyone feels tension.

Related Characters: David Sheff, Nic Sheff, Karen Barbour, Jasper Sheff, Daisy Sheff
Related Symbols: The Phone
Page Number: 293
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Beautiful Boy LitChart as a printable PDF.
Beautiful Boy PDF

Daisy Sheff Quotes in Beautiful Boy

The Beautiful Boy quotes below are all either spoken by Daisy Sheff or refer to Daisy Sheff. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Addiction, Ruin, and Redemption Theme Icon
).
Chapter 4 Quotes

I look at the three of them and recall a bewildering emotion that I recognized for the first time back when Nic was born. Along with the joy of parenthood, with every child comes a piercing vulnerability. It is at once sublime and terrifying.

Related Characters: David Sheff, Nic Sheff, Karen Barbour, Jasper Sheff, Daisy Sheff
Page Number: 65
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19 Quotes

Jasper responds, “I don’t think he wants to do them, but he can’t help it. It’s like in cartoons when some character has a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. The devil whispers into Nicky’s ear and sometimes it gets too loud so he has to listen to him. The angel is there, too,” Jasper continues, “but he talks softer and Nic can’t hear him.”

Related Characters: Jasper Sheff (speaker), David Sheff, Nic Sheff, Daisy Sheff
Related Symbols: Angel and Devil
Page Number: 227
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 21 Quotes

I have learned that I am all but irrelevant to Nic’s survival. It took my near death, however, to comprehend that his fate—and Jasper’s and Daisy’s—is separate from mine. I can try to protect my children, to help and guide them, and I can love them, but I cannot save them. Nic, Jasper, and Daisy will live, and someday they will die, with or without me.

Related Characters: David Sheff, Nic Sheff, Karen Barbour, Jasper Sheff, Daisy Sheff
Page Number: 255
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 25 Quotes

The phone, when it rings, brings on the same state of panic. I am always worried that there is news of another crisis. Or it’s Nic, and I don’t know if he will be sane or high. Or it won’t be him, and I’ll be disappointed. My body tenses up. Oftentimes during meals or when we’re hanging around in the evening, I let the phone ring until the answering service picks it up, because I don’t want to deal with whatever might be coming. I think that everyone feels tension.

Related Characters: David Sheff, Nic Sheff, Karen Barbour, Jasper Sheff, Daisy Sheff
Related Symbols: The Phone
Page Number: 293
Explanation and Analysis: