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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. What is one of the "little questions" (25) the narrator began asking himself regarding his time with his lover?

2. What was the narrator unsure he would be able to do without his lover?

3. How would the narrator feel when he closed his eyes and began to dream?

4. What color are the narrator's lover's eyes?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Why does the narrator choose not to kiss his lover's eyelids as he wants to while he watches her sleep?

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

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

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

6. 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?

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

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

9. 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?

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the narrator's goals and motives. What are they? Does he achieve them? Are they the same or different from his lover's goals and motives? How do you know?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay examining the green shirt as a symbol in "Break it Down." In what scenes does the shirt appear? What is the context? How does the shirt develop the narrative?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about the author of "Break it Down." Who is she? What else has she written? How is "Break it Down" similar or different from her previous works?

(see the answer keys)

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