Short Story "The Leap" pg. 44-52 Study Questions

What theme was shown throughout the story having to do with mothers?

Mothers will do anything for their children.

Why was the narrator embarrassed when she saw her mother climb through the window to save her from the fire?

All the clothes her mother had on were under garments and the whole crowd had seen her.

What was one main point the narrator was thinking of during the flashbacks that her mom had told her?

As you fall there is time to think.

6. A) How does the narrators attitude towards her dead half sister change?

At first the narrator saw the unborn girl as just herself and not even really being a person. But once the narrator starts aging she claims she sees the child being sketched in the snow to become a perfect drawing.

2. What other sensory details help to reveal the similarities of the 2 main flashbacks?

Both of the 2 main events were caused by fire/heat.

What was considered the second event of how the mother saved the narrator?

Her mother breaking her arm causing her to meet the narrators father.

Why were the mothers hands so badly burned?

During the trapeze act she had to grab onto a braided metal wire in order for her to keep from falling to her death. The pole was still hot from the lightning strike.

6. B) What does information about this sibling add to the story?

Having the dead sibling in the story makes the event more suspenseful and at first you believe the young baby was the narrator.

What did the narrators father promise to give to her mother in return for stories of the mothers travels?

He taught her how to read and write.

3. A) What happened to the narrator when she was 7?

Her father accidentally caused the house to catch on fire. When the narrator realized the house was caught she calmly remembered the training to do when you are in a fire and followed it. Her mother then saved her by climbing and leaping from a tree to get to the window of the roof to bring the narrator down from the flaming house.

Why did the narrator move back to her mothers house?

Her husband had recently died. The mother was blind so she needed help and someone to read to her.

What month did the Trapeze disaster happen in?

June

Where was the house the narrator grew up in?

New Hampshire

7. Both the narrator and her mother reacted to matters of life and death in this story. Did you find their reactions realistic? Explain.

No I didn't find their reactions realistic because most people would panic in situations they were put in.

What month did the fire happen?

November

How did the narrator know about the trapeze disaster?

She learned from the Boston and New York Tabloids her mom never spoke of it.

5. How effective was the author at capturing the reader's attention with the opening passage of the story? Explain.

The author was very effective in grabbing my attention because the sentence started with her mother surviving a trapeze act.

2. A) what caused the disaster at the circus, and what happened to the Flying Avalons?

The disaster was caused by a sudden storm when a lightning bolt struck a medal pole. When the lightening struck, the narrators mother and her husband were in the middle of a blind trapeze set. Her husband fell to his death while the mother grabbed onto the lightening struck pole and held on with her hands burning while she was pregnant. The husband died and so did the child.

What leads the reader to believe the mothers first child was the narrator?

The event goes on until at the end of the event the author writes the baby was dead before its first month of living

What caused the narrator to wake up during the house fire?

The extension ladder hitting the walls

1. What do you think is the most dramatic event in this story? Give details to explain your choice.

The most dramatic event of the story to me was before the narrator was born. When her mom and her husband were caught in bad storm in the middle of a Trapeze Act while blindfolded. The moment was very intense and left me very suspenseful as I read through the story.

2. B) In your opinion, why didn't her mother save her costume or anything related to this period of her life?

The mother didn't want to be reminded of what she lost the day of the storm. She lost her child, her husband, and was injured.

1. Ho do a sound, an odor, and a certain setting work together to spark the narrator's memory at the beginning of "The Leap"?

The narrator is sitting in the room where her house was burning down while she was in it. She could smell the stove smoke coming through the room, and she heard the crackle of the fire starting on the stove top. This is could also remind her of her mothers trapeze incident.

3. B) What comparisons do you think the narrator would make between her life and her mothers? Provide evidence from the story.

The narrator might believe she got her mothers ability to stay calm and "live comfortably in extreme elements" like her mother. While her mother could stay calm on the trapeze, the narrator stayed calm when she realized her house was burning down.

4. A) what specific event or events in the story does the title "The Leap" refer to?

The title could refer to her days as a circus performer when she was performing the trapeze and the storm hit and she had to leap in order to save her life. Also when the narrator was stuck in her room because of the fire and the mother leaped from the thin branch to the roof in hopes of saving her daughter.

8. Louise Eldrich often writes about the personal power or strength of women. How do the narrator and her mother each show their personal strengths in this story?

They both show bravery and calmness throughout the story. Especially when the narrator was 7 and she stayed calm when she realized the fire was burning down her house while she was in it.

Why does the narrator mention her mother being blind at the beginning of the story?

To get the reader hooked and to bring on the point that her mother was once in a Trapeze act.

3. which of her mother's character traits were displayed throughout the narrator's flashbacks? How did the authors choice to use flashbacks hope to better portray these traits? Give reasons for your opinion.

fearlessness and strength were portrayed throughout the story. Showing how the mother was after all of her accidents and how she was still strong even though she has lost her sight and her 2nd husband.

What was the father of the narrators job?

he was a specialist in arms and legs

During the trapeze act, what did the Avalons do to show their love for another?

they kissed in midair