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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 does the narrator cite as the other "bad time" (28) he and his lover had?

2. What were the narrator and his lover doing when he first told her he loved her?

3. If the narrator calculates the time spent thinking of his lover up to six weeks after the affair, how much does he figure he has spent?

4. What does the narrator say he sometimes feels like when he thinks of his affair?

5. What was the narrator unable to tell his lover before he told her he loved her?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the narrator see as he walks away from his lover at the end of their trip?

2. The narrator says he would do it again. Why? Was the pleasure greater than the pain?

3. In what way is the pain from the affair worse than the pleasure?

4. How does the narrator describe what happens when you look at the pain as if "in an open box, in a window somewhere" (29)?

5. What types of things does the narrator say bring back to the memory of his lover just as he thinks he is over the pain?

6. After adding up the time spent thinking of his lover after the affair has ended, how much does the narrator calculate he has spent?

7. What does the narrator do to try to numb the "large heavy pain" (26) he is left with once the pictures fade?

8. Describe the first bad time the speaker recalls having with his lover.

9. How does the narrator say he was beginning to feel when he was getting ready to say goodbye?

10. What was the second bad time the narrator says he and his lover had?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Write a detailed analysis of tone in Davis's "Break it Down." Include whether the tone changes or remains the same. If it changes, include details on when, why and whether this change is effective.

(see the answer keys)

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