The Leap

by Louise Erdrich

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The Leap Questions and Answers

What is the chronological oder of the main events in "The Leap" by Louise Erdrick, beginning with the day at the circus?

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

What character traits does the mother in "The Leap" display with her circus performances and her actions when the accident takes place?

What are the three ways the narrator in "The Leap" by Louise Erdrich owes her existence to her mother and how do they increase the story's tension?

In "The Leap" by Louise Erdrich, how does the narrator feel about her mother?

In "The Leap," why is the father attracted to the narrator's mother?

List 14 events that happened in the story "The Leap."

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

What are the literal and figurative leaps in the story "The Leap"?

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

What are examples of foreshadowing in the story "The Leap" by Louise Erdrich?

What is the theme of "The Leap" by Lousie Erdrich?

What are two events that show the rising action in "The Leap"?

Describe the narrator's character in "The Leap." How do we learn about her?

In "The Leap," compare the three ways in which the mother somehow saves the daughter's life.

What is the conflict of The Leap by Louise Erdrich?  

How does Anna Avalon save the narrator when the narrator was seven-years-old?

What does Anna decide to do when the circus tent pole is struck by lightning?

Does survival require selfishness?

What are the three "leaps" that the mother takes in "The Leap"?

Identify the leaps in the story? Which ones are literal? Which ones are figurative?

What is the irony in "The Leap" ?

What information is given about Anna in the first three paragraphs of Louise Erdrich's short story "The Leap"? Why does Erdrich include this information?

What is the climax for the story called "The Leap" by Louise Erdrich?  

In "The Leap," at what point does the narrator first introduce a detailed flashback? What is the source of the narrator's information and what does she learn?

How does the narrator feel about her mother in "The Leap"?  

In "The Leap," what is the mother's internal conflict?

Why is “The Leap” a good title for this story? Name all the leaps, both literal and figurative, that occur in the story.

In "The Leap," how does the author build suspense throughout the story until the true nature of the events she suggests are revealed?

Why do you think Anna Avalon did not reach out for her husband while he was falling in "The Leap"?

In "The Leap," how does the narrator feel about the sister she never had?

In The Leap, why has the narrator returned to her childhood home?  

What are three examples of foreshadowing in the story "The Leap"? Do the foreshadowing clues help readers make predictions about the story’s outcome or do they go unnoticed? 

In "The Leap," what literary device does the author use to put the past event concerning the blindfold trapeze act into the narrative?

How does "The Leap" end?

How did the narrator's parents meet in "The Leap"?

What event ends the Flying Avalons act in "The Leap"?

What is the overall effect of the story "The Leap"?

Who is the antagonist in The Leap by Louise Erdrich?

What do we learn about the narrator's mother in the story "The Leap"'s exposition?

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

What occurred when lightning struck the circus tent during the Avalons' performance?

Are the mother's actions in "The Leap" credible, based on your understanding of brave, selfless people?

What are the "forms of flight" in the story "The Leap"?

Where does the fire start in "The Leap" and what likely caused it?

Analyze the character of the mother in "The Leap" by Louise Erdrich.

How did the father die in "The Leap?"

In "The Leap," how does the narrator's mother display courage and what does this reveal about her character?

How does the poem's focus shift between stanzas 1 and 2 to explore the mother's experience with loss?

What are three important lines from "The Leap" by Louise Eldrich?