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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 is something the narrator says happens when she is in her room and gets a "whiff of smoke from the stove downstairs" (para.2)?

2. What condition does the narrator's mother have as explained in paragraph 1?

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

4. In paragraph 3, where does the narrator say she gets her information about her mother's disaster?

5. After reading paragraph 1, what do readers learn about the narrator's mother's former partner?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing Louise Erdich’s decision to tell the story using third person point-of-view from the narrator's perspective. How does this impact the reader's understanding of the story's events? Is this effective? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing the narrative structure of “The Leap." What effect does this have on the story and the reader? Use direct examples from the story to support your analysis.

Essay Topic 3

What words are most impactful? Explain your answers.

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This section contains 773 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample