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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the narrator say her mother did the first time she owes her existence to her?

2. What happened during Harold and Anna's act just before they were able to clasp hands in midair?

3. In paragraph 2, what does the narrator say she sometimes thinks her mother has no memory of from her youth?

4. How many times does the narrator say she owes her existence to her mother?

5. How many acts performed before Anna and her husband's act on the day of the disaster?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the narrator find it unsurprising that her mother was able to perform while seven months pregnant?

2. Describe Anna and Harold's typical trapeze performance.

3. How does the narrator describe the way her mother moves through their home in New Hampshire in paragraph 1?

4. Why does the narrator say people in the East are at a disadvantage regarding weather changes than those in the West, where she used to live?

5. What type of performer was the narrator's mother? Where does she live and what is her medical condition?

6. How is the scene at the circus before the disaster described? What was the weather like? What was the audience doing?

7. What stands in the center of town as a reminder of the disaster? Where does the narrator find out about the events that day?

8. What detail about Anna was not mentioned in the newspaper accounts of the disaster?

9. Why does the narrator sometimes forget that her mother was part of the Flying Avalons?

10. What events followed lightning striking the main tent pole while Harold and Anna were performing?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing Louise Erdich’s commentary on family and motherhood in “The Leap.”

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay discussing the setting and time period of “The Leap." In what ways does the time period and setting impact your understanding of the story as well as the themes?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay analyzing narrative voice in “The Leap." Include thoughts on how the narrative voice of the story is effective in conveying the story’s themes.

(see the answer keys)

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