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Summary Of The Leap By Louise Erdrich

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What different time periods does Erdrich refer to in these opening paragraphs? In the opening paragraphs of the story “The Leap” the author Louise Erdrich refers to the present, her mother’s early days of training, and a period before her existence when a fire took place. Being so precise with her balance as a blind woman obliges the narrator to refer back to her mother’s days of training. Anna Avalon, the narrator’s mother previously a trapeze performer, nowadays resembles a normal person in society and nothing about her constructs the notion for others that she is a former Flying Avalon. Not keeping any of her photos or memories of her past life causes this identity in a way to neglect who she used to be. “She has kept no costume, no photographs, no fliers or posters” demonstrates the emptiness in her past and disremembrance of her youth (Erdrich 37). Because she kept no souvenirs from her former band of trapeze performers, it seems apparent that some event discomforted her; she wanted no memory of the pain. To what time and place has the narrator flashed back? …show more content…

At the time of the performance, Anna was pregnant. Married to her first husband Harold, the flashback takes place before the narrator’s existence in the month of June. This event is the reason that she keeps no memories of her past career. It was too devastating to have any items that would remind her of it. The “elements [extreme as they were]” were even riskier with the presence of the storm outside (Erdrich 38). This means that the act is riskier because the stakes are

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