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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 sounds does the narrator say may remind him of his lover?

2. 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?

3. What do the "little questions" (26) the narrator begins to ask himself begin to do to him, as described in the text?

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

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

Short Essay Questions

1. The narrator says he may have only been half falling in love. Why?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. 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?

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

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 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?

(see the answer keys)

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