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Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. How is the narrator's lover's behavior described at the start of the story?
2. What still surprises the narrator about his relationship at the start of the story?
3. How many hours a day does the narrator estimate he spends either with his lover or thinking of her during their time together?
4. What colors does the narrator use to describe his lover's hair when he recalls her looking up at him from the newspaper she was reading?
5. How would the narrator feel when he closed his eyes and began to dream?
Short Essay Questions
1. The narrator describes a moment in bed when his lover talked nonstop late into the night, her mouth close to his ear. How did he feel during that time?
2. How much does the narrator first say the cost of their love making was each hour?
3. Why does the narrator choose not to kiss his lover's eyelids as he wants to while he watches her sleep?
4. 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?
5. What does the narrator note about his lover's skin when he talks about waking up and looking at her?
6. What are the feelings the narrator experiences when he starts to lose the feeling of being with his lover?
7. What is the narrator trying to break down at the start of the story?
8. Based on what the narrator says he spent in the first few paragraphs, what did he and his lover do during their trip?
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. How do the feelings about the narrator's affair linger after it ends at first?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
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?
Essay Topic 2
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 3
Write an essay analyzing Davis's commentary on love in "Break it Down." How is love important to the story? How does it affect the narrative? Use textual evidence to explain your analysis.
This section contains 770 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
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