The Leap Group at eNotes

The narrator says she owes her mother her existence the first time...

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 23:23:29 PST

The narrator says she owes her mother her existence the first time because of an incident that occurred before her birth. Her mother, Anna, of the Flying Avalons, was a trapeze artist. When she was seven months pregnant, she was performing the finale of their act with her husband when the circus tent was struck by lightning. Falling, Anna grabbed a guy wire, which was superheated by lightning. She was confined to a hospital for a month...

In "The Leap", what are the "three times" the narrator describes by...

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 14:48:14 PST

In "The Leap", what are the "three times" the narrator describes by which she owes her mother her existence?

The first comparison that the narrator would make between herself and...

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:48:08 PST

The first comparison that the narrator would make between herself and her mother is that at this point in their lives, neither of them are strong enough to be on their own. The narrator makes a point of telling the reader that she moved back in with her mother not only because her mother could not see and needed her help but also because she, the narrator, was not doing very well in her life either. A second comparison would be that both...

What comparisons do you think the narrator would make between her life...

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:20:33 PST

What comparisons do you think the narrator would make between her life and her mothers?

"The Leap" is a good title for this story because of the many...

Tue, 4 Nov 2008 12:45:57 PST

"The Leap" is a good title for this story because of the many leaps, both literal and figuartive that take place in the story. The first leap that takes place is literal; this occurs when the narrator's mother leaps from the trapeze rope in the burning circus tent to save her life. The second leap is more figurative -- this is the leap of faith that the narrator's mother takes when she begins a relationship with the doctor that...

The narrator uses contrast throughout the story to illustrate what her...

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:07:50 PST

The narrator uses contrast throughout the story to illustrate what her choices were and how her decisions shaped her life. The story is told by the daughter of an acrobat named Anna, who made choices that the narrator tells the reader have saved her life, the daughter, three times.One perfect example of the author's use of contrast, in particular, is when the acrobat's daughter, the narrator, is stuck in their burning house. Told that...

How is contrast used in "The Leap," and how effective is it?

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:58:33 PST

How is contrast used in "The Leap," and how effective is it?

You didn't say how you are going to focus your analysis. I'm guessing...

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 12:07:21 PST

You didn't say how you are going to focus your analysis. I'm guessing that it is probably connected to either theme or character.First of all, I would check out the enotes section on "The Leap" to help you get a sense of the themes:On its most basic level, it is a pleasant story of a daughter doing her duty by an aging parent whom she loves and respects. On a deeper level, it is a commentary on to what one owes one's existence and...

I have to write an analysis essay about "The Leap" and am...

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 09:17:14 PST

I have to write an analysis essay about "The Leap" and am having trouble finding my thesis statement.

The lessons that the narrator learns in "The Leap" have to do...

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:54:00 PST

The lessons that the narrator learns in "The Leap" have to do with the process of making choices in one's life. "Throughout the story the narrator is preoccupied with harbingers, ignored warnings, and signs of impending doom, as well as with the choices that people make to prepare for the future." "She couples this theme with that of acceptance of fate, recognizing that individual choices are often lesser evils, and...

What are the lessons the letter is trying to teach in "The...

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:51:55 PST

What are the lessons the letter is trying to teach in "The Leap"?

Why is "the leap" a good title for this story?

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:31:03 PST

Why is "the leap" a good title for this story?

The flashback episodes are related in that all of them relate to...

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:53:41 PST

The flashback episodes are related in that all of them relate to instances that are very intense, and, especially, instances that define the characters and their relationships to one another. Think of how the mother—at the moment of extreme crisis—maintained her calm during the storm. Or think of how she made that final leap to save the narrator's life. Especially, think about how she maintained her calm and character as she did both. That...

The story is told by a narrator, not the principal character in the...

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:52:20 PST

The story is told by a narrator, not the principal character in the flashbacks. The narrator, unlike Anna, the principal character, would not tell the story of her heroic, courageous actions as a mother the same way that a grateful daughter can and does.She recalls her mother's life, as it relates to her, saying that her mother saved her three times, that is how the story is told through the unveiling of the three incidents.The three...

In "The Leap," what does the author’s use of flashback add...

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:43:09 PST

In "The Leap," what does the author’s use of flashback add to the story that a strict chronological telling would not accomplish?

In "The Leap," how are the different flashback episodes...

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:36:17 PST

In "The Leap," how are the different flashback episodes related to one another?

The foreshadowing in "The Leap" starts early. Erdrich...

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:23:36 PST

The foreshadowing in "The Leap" starts early. Erdrich specifies that the mother is "the surviving half of a blindfold trapeze act," letting the reader know that the mother survives. It also implies that the trapeze background will be used in the story, which indeed it is. A page or so later, the narrator mentions smelling "smoke from the stove downstairs" and then moves into a flashback. That lets us know that...

The mother in "The Leap" shows courage in almost countless...

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:19:16 PST

The mother in "The Leap" shows courage in almost countless ways. One simple way is that she makes her way around her house by herself, without complaining, even though she is old and blind. The more dramatic ways, of course, are the various leaps that she takes. When she performed as a trapeze artist, that took courage. When she kept her head when the storm struck the circus tent, that took even more. If she'd panicked, she would...

The author tells the story from Anna's daughter's point of view, she...

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:05:24 PST

The author tells the story from Anna's daughter's point of view, she begins the flashbacks when she refers to owing her existence to her mother three times.The first time is when her mother was part of the trapeze act, Anna of the Flying Avalons, with her husband, Harold. While they were performing one night, with Anna pregnant, not with the narrator, lightening struck the main pole in the tent. The blindfolded Avalons began to fall,...

Analyze the author’s use of flashback in "The Leap"

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:53:27 PST

Analyze the author’s use of flashbacks. Put the story’s main events in chronological order on a time line.