View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What were the narrator and his lover doing in the "very clean white place" (24) he recalls?

2. What else did the narrator see in his dreams beyond the dark frame of empty space?

3. What still surprises the narrator about his relationship at the start of the story?

4. What is the narrator trying to do at the start of the story?

5. What does the narrator know will happen each day he spends with his lover?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the narrators dream, which he has lying beside his lover.

2. What surprising question did the narrator's lover ask him in bed one day? How did he respond? What did she think of his response?

3. After including the entire day he and his lover spend together and all the bits that add up, how much does he say he has spent per hour?

4. What type of questions does the narrator say he begins to ask himself after "the pictures start to go" (25) of his time with his lover?

5. How do the feelings about the narrator's affair linger after it ends at first?

6. What does the narrator note about his lover's skin when he talks about waking up and looking at her?

7. What is the narrator trying to break down at the start of the story?

8. How does the narrator describe his lover's behavior during the time they spend together before making love?

9. Describe the image of the narrator's love in the coffee shop.

10. Based on what the narrator says he spent in the first few paragraphs, what did he and his lover do during their trip?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing Davis's commentary on love in "Break it Down." How is love important to the story? How does it affect the narrative? Use textual evidence to explain your analysis.

Essay Topic 2

The author offers very few details about each character. However, based on what is included, write an essay exploring the narrator. Who is he? What might he do for work? Where does he live? What is his backstory?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay exploring Davis's decision to write a story in which the main action is in the past and only revealed through the narrator's reflection. How does this impact the reading? What might this say about the themes of the story? Do you agree with the author's choice?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 807 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample