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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 often did the narrator and his lover make love during their time together?

2. When the narrator describes watching his lover as she sleeps, what does he say that makes the reader know their time together is temporary?

3. Aside from the flight, what did the narrator pay for during his trip?

4. After including the time spent with his lover and thinking of her, how much does the narrator estimate their affair costs per hour?

5. How much was the plane ticket the narrator bought?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

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

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

5. 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?

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

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

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

9. The narrator describes a moment in bed when his lover talked nonstop late into the night, her mouth close to his ear. How did he feel during that time?

10. How much does the narrator first say the cost of their love making was each hour?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing Davis's language style and word choice in "Break it Down." What are some words that stand out to you and why? What words are repeated? What words are most impactful? Explain your answers.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing Davis's decision to tell the story using alternating point-of-view from the narrator's perspective. How does this impact the reader's understanding of the story's events? Is this effective? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the theme of pain as revealed in "Break it Down."

(see the answer keys)

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