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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. What does the narrator say he becomes afraid of as distance grows between the time spent with his lover and the present?

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

4. As time passes, the narrator says thoughts of his lover are more in his ______ than his ______?

5. What does the narrator say he kept dreaming about while with his lover?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

6. What are the feelings the narrator experiences when he starts to lose the feeling of being with his lover?

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

8. 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?

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

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 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 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

Write a brief essay analyzing the the title "Break it Down." Explore the ways in which this title connects to the themes of the story.

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