Saturday, July 28, 2018

List 14 events that happened in the story "The Leap."

Note that these events are not in chronological order. The story is told by the narrator, looking back upon her life.
The first notable event is that the narrator's mother, Anna, has lost her sight. The narrator states this in the present tense. We learn (later in the story) that the narrator has moved home to care for her mother.
A second significant even is the narration itself. In other words, an important event in the story is the narrator telling the story of how she owes her existence to her mother ("three times").
The next events (recollected) are the lightning strike and the ensuing trapeze accident. Rather than reach out and save her husband, Anna saves herself and her unborn child. The baby did not survive. Anna saving her own life is an event itself.
The narrator recalls how the unborn child is "a less finished version of herself." Then she recalls the child's tombstone.
The narrator recalls how her mother met her (the narrator's) father while she was in the hospital, following the trapeze accident. This man and Anna eventually married and gave birth to the narrator. Anna shared stories of her travels with him, and he taught her to read.
The next significant event is the fire (again, recalled). The narrator is upstairs in the burning house and her mother (Anna) uses her acrobatic skills to save her. This is the literal "leap" referred to by the title.
According to the narrator, the most significant events are the trapeze accident, her mother meeting her father in the hospital, and the leap that saved her during the house fire. I would add that the narrator's move home (to care for her mother) is a metaphorical leap itself. Since her mother made so many leaps to save her, she returned the favor. These are four extremely significant events. So, pick and choose which events you would like to add up to fourteen. I've listed about ten events above. Note that the narrator recalling a memory (or the memory itself) can be considered to be an event.

No comments:

Post a Comment

What is the theme of the chapter Lead?

Primo Levi's complex probing of the Holocaust, including his survival of Auschwitz and pre- and post-war life, is organized around indiv...