Summary Of The Leap By Louise Erdrich

In “The Leap” by Louise Erdrich, the narrator explains her mother's happy turned tragic moment that affected her mother dramatically and mostly centers around the narrator talking about her mother's past as well as hers herself.. The story revolves around the narrator whose name is unknown, explains how her existence is owed by her mother three different times. The author Louise Erdrich creates the effect if surprise in her story by using Foreshadowing, parallel plot lines, and plot twist.

In the “The Leap” the author uses foreshadowing to create the effect of suspense. In the story the narrator says “as I sit sewing in the room of the rebuilt house in which I slept as a child.” The reader at this point may wonder why the house

During The Flying Avalons disaster in which multiple people including the the narrator’s mother’s first husband died, its said that “One detail not mentioned by the press, perhaps unknown—Anna was pregnant at the time, seven months and hardly showing, her stomach muscles were that strong.” and then later says “She was taken to the town hospital, and there she must have hemorrhaged, for they kept her confined to her bed, a month and a half before her baby was born without life.” The reader may feel surprised that Anna, the mother was pregnant but still performing and then later to reveal due to being rendered unconscious, Anna had to be taken to the hospital and unfortunately the baby died before birth. This text gives many plot twist. The first being that while pregnant, Anna still performed Trapeze acts and the baby being fine for seven months. The next twist which is more dramatic is that this baby soon dies before birth adding a more dark and dramatic tone to the story. The reader may then come to a realization that even though Anna is the narrator’s mother and Anna’s baby died, this isn’t the same baby that grows up to tell this story adding another twist and then the reader may wonder how the narrator came to be which is then enlightened upon with the reveal the her father. These plot twist help keep the reader immersed in the story and wondering what’ll happen next giving the effect of surprise at first with the plot twist and then setting an effect of suspense as the reader awaits what will take place