WorksheetsThe Leap Analysis
Total questions: 20
Worksheet time: 11mins
In “The Leap,” what does the narrator suggest is the main reason that her mother, now blind from cataracts, can still safely negotiate her New Hampshire home?
She has lived there a long time.
She once saved the narrator's life.
She was once part of a blindfold trapeze act.
She has a highly developed sense of hearing.
In speaking of her mother, the narrator of “The Leap” says, “I owe her my existence three times.” To which of the mother’s actions does the narrator most clearly refer? Choose three options.
learning to read and write
giving birth to the narrator
rescuing the narrator in the fire
staying in the narrator's hometown
saving herself in the circus disaster
As explained in "The Leap," what causes the circus disaster in which Harry Avalon dies?
a faulty piece of equipment
unruly spectators
a lightning bolt
human error
The narrator of "The Leap" describes walking to a gravesite just down the highway when she was growing up. Who is buried in that gravesite?
her father
her mother's first husband
the spectators lost during the disaster
the unborn daghter whom her mother lost in the circus disaster
In “The Leap,” which of the following seem especially important to the narrator’s mother after her second marriage? Choose two options.
fame
family
sewing
reading
remembering
Which type of person would most likely be described as encroaching?
a spectator
a trespasser
a homemaker
a professor
To answer an e-mail instantaneously, what must you do?
answer immediately
answer uneasily
answer angrily
answer humorously
Which means of transportation would most Americans today consider to be superannuated?
airplane
spaceship
automobile
stagecoach
After the narrator's mother in "The Leap" is injured in the accident, why is the narrator's father called to the hospital to help her?
He has experience in circus performing.
He teaches people to read and write.
He is familiar with limb injuries in the miltary.
He wants to make ammends for starting the fire.
In “The Leap,” after the mother marries for the second time, what seems to be her attitude toward her early years as a circus performer?
She enjoys recalling her days as a famous acrobat.
She deeply regrets her early career.
She longs for the romance of those years.
She seems to have put her past behind her.
Which word best describes the narrator of "The Leap" as a child?
disciplined
irresponsible
humble
fearful
Which phrase best describes the mother in “The Leap” when she jumps onto the burning house to rescue her daughter?
frightened but determined
calm and capable
nervous and embarrassed
What do the details in this excerpt from “The Leap” most clearly foreshadow?
Sometimes, as I sit sewing in the room of the rebuilt house in which I
slept as a child, I hear the crackle, catch a whiff of smoke from the stove
downstairs, and suddenly the room goes dark, the stitches burn beneath my
fingers, and I am sewing with a needle of hot silver, a thread of fire.
the narrator's returning to live with her elderly mother
the revelation of the mother's blindness in later life
the story of the mother's time in the hospital
the memory of the fire that the narrator escaped
How does this excerpt from “The Leap” help build suspense?
I have lived in the West, where you can see the weather coming for miles, and it is
true that out here we are at something of a disadvantage. When extremes of
temperature collide, a hot and cold front, winds generate instantaneously behind a hill
and crash upon you without warning. That, I think, was the likely situation on that day
in June. People probably commented on the pleasant air, grateful that no hot sun beat
upon the striped tent that stretched over the entire center green.
It provides revealing information about the narrator.
It shows how people sometimes perceive the future.
It suggests that people are hiding their fears.
It hints that the good weather will not last.
In this excerpt from “The Leap,” the pacing speeds up with the short sentences but then slows down with the lengthy descriptive details. What is the main effect of this pacing?
She directed one of the men to lean the broken half of the extension ladder up against
the trunk of the tree. . . . She ascended. She vanished. Then she could be seen among
the leafless branches of late November as she made her way up and, along her
stomach, inched the length of a bough that curved above the branch that brushed the roof.
The pacing builds suspense.
The pacing conveys a sense of hopelessness.
The pacing makes events seem less realistic.
The pacing captures a mood of lighthearted adventure.
What is one meaning of the Latin root -strict-?
to hit
to teach
to build
to bind
The Latin suffix -ure usually forms nouns and means "the act or process of." Use this information and your knowledge of the Latin root -strict- to determine the most likely meaning of the word stricture.
an achievement
a celebration
an indication
a limitation
Which of these objects or ideas best qualifies as a motif in "The Leap"?
the tombstone
blindness
the trapeze
literacy
In "The Leap," what does the symbol of the leap most likely represent? Choose two options.
falling victim to accidents
taking risks for loved ones
losing one's skills in old age
making changes in one's life
To which of these main themes do the symbols, motifs, and other details in "The Leap" most clearly point? Choose two options.
The skills we learn early in life may prove useful later.
Sometimes we must risk danger to help those we love.
The events of our lives are always repeating themselves.
Old age can be the most satisfying time in a person's life.
Some people focus their lives upon being the center of attention.
