Analysis Of The Leap Louise Erdrich

“The leap” is a short story by Louise Erdrich which is about the narrator that says that she owes to her mother, Anna Avalon, “her existence three times” because thanks to her she is where she is now. The narrator as well starts to talk about one of the three leaps that has gotten her to where she is. Anna, the mother, is described at first as very coordinated because although she is blind, she doesn’t stumble with anything and leaves the house spotless. The cause of her being so coordinated and having a “catlike precision” is because of her amazing past in the circus. The narrator throughout the story has flashbacks of the past and remembers certain tragedies that her mother was in.

The narrator tells the story of the act where Anna and

her father were doing their act in the middle of a storm. They were dropping from high places and at that same time Anna was pregnant. They were in the middle of the act and everything was going well but then while he was in a swing waiting to catch his wife while she was in midair; a lighting hits the circus’ tent pole and sets an electrical charge over to Anna’s love and he falls from the swing and falls to his death. Anna was waiting for her husband to grab her but then after she waited she took off her blindfold. When she took off her blindfold she could have saved the husband but he was on the wrong side so it didn’t give her time. At this moment she realized the tragedy that happened, she “leaps” to the braided metal where lighting struck which was hot. She was lowered to the sawdust and she only had her hands burnt but when a rescuer came he tugged her arm and broke it, and he had to take her to the hospital.

I At the hospital, Anna’s mind falls into a great confusion on what decisions to take in her life. Anna feels overwhelming sadness because of the death of her husband and on top of that her baby. But after a struggle the physician helped her get through with it by showing his interest on the many places she has been to and since he never travels they made a deal. The deal was that Anna would tell him stories of all the places she has visited and in exchange he would teach her how to read and write. This was the second leap of Anna taking the privilege of being educated.

As this deal happened they fell in love and had a child, (the narrator) and this marked in Anna the beginning of a new life.

They lived in a farmhouse close to the cemetery where Anna’s first husband was buried. This didn’t bother Anna but on the contraire. One night while the parents of the narrator were out having dinner the farmhouse caught on fire. The babysitter that was sleeping there noticed the fire too late and the stairs leading to the baby’s (narrator’s) room were completely destroyed by the fire. The babysitter runs out of the house and the parents arrive.

The mother, Anna when she sees this she takes off her dress and climbs a tree next to the baby’s window to the room. In the same moment firemen arrive. In this part we can see Anna give anything so she doesn’t lose another daughter or loved one. She taps on her daughter’s bedroom window and tells her to come towards her. Then the baby child jumps out the window and into the firemen’s net.

Anna has lived a happy life but she gets sad because of her blindness and because of her husband’s death. The daughter (narrator) moves in with her. Since she went blind she can’t read or write and that is one of the hardest things that she had to adjust to. She is lonely and the only things she can actually see are her memories and while some of them good in this cases evils overcomes good. Although she had a great and happy life but she ended up depressed until her daughter

came.

The narrator’s attitude is very grateful and appreciative to her mother. She also shows a sense of melancholy speaking since she is very fond with the memories of her mother. We can also see that the narrator feels love toward her mother since she knows so much about her and her life, and she feels that she owes her life to her. Nonetheless the narrator shows admiration to her mother because of her ability to work so well under extremes. In conclusion we can see the different attitudes the narrator has and the personality of Anna which is a very courageous woman that found happiness too although the tragedies and adversities that came in her way.