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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 say is all that is left of the relationship after the pictures and questions go away?

2. What "comes after [the affair] and lasts longer" (30), according to the narrator?

3. How does the narrator describe how his impending pain looks in an open box in a window?

4. How does the narrator describe the way his lover responded when he told her he loved her?

5. Why does the narrator think he could not let himself fall completely in love with his lover?

Short Essay Questions

1. In the final paragraph, what does the narrator question regarding his affair?

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

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. The narrator says sometimes he feels like a prince or a king. What contrasting emotion does he feel?

6. How long after the affair does the narrator think his time thinking of her is reduced to about and hour or two a day?

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

8. What did the narrator's lover give him before he left? Describe it.

9. 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?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Read a review of "Break it Down." Write an essay about how this review impacted your own views or understanding of the story.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay examining the ending of "Break it Down." How did the ending fit into the storyline? Do you think the ending was effective? What theme might the ending represent? What might the author have done differently?

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