Written Commentary: Erdrich “The Leap” Lines 135-184
Life is a constant struggle against fate. Fate is the development of events
by means of a supernatural force, meaning that fate is out of that hands of the
individual. For those that believe in fate, life is an everlasting series of events and
tragedies that are meant to happen, and meant to set one on a specific path or
grant them with specific opportunities. In a sense, "fate" and "destiny" are
interchangeable, and in "The Leap" by Louise Erdrich, fate plays a significant role
in the events and themes of the story. Like people today, the characters in the
story are faced with life changing events that they take in stride, without missing
a beat. It's almost as if the characters accept the tragedies and events in which
they face as a part of their destined path, demonstrating an adherence to the
idea of "fate." In "The Leap" By Louise Erdrich, Erdrich develops symbols,
imagery, and accepting, calm diction which contrasts with the nature of certain
situations to establish the way in which characters possess a certain acceptance
of fate.
In short stories, symbols are often used to develop and establish prevailing
themes and ideas, and Louise Erdrich's "The Leap" is much the same. Symbols
play a major role in developing themes, specifically in the establishment of the
acceptance of fate, in which Erdrich establishes symbols of tragedy and hardship
for her characters to overcome and take in stride. Erdrich starts the passage by
demonstrating the hardships of the mother, who is in the hospital, and
demonstrates her perseverance, despite being faced with several disabilities. In
the hospital, Erdrich discusses how the mother “learned to read and write,”
despite being illiterate all of her life. Interestingly, the passage immediately
begins with a hurdle, the illiteracy being a symbol of a difficulty, to which she
must symbolically “leap” over. The same is continued a few lines down, as the
narrator discusses her mother’s difficulty with “her blindness.” In both cases, a
hardship is presented, yet both are followed by an unexpected acceptance of
such a tragedy. Instead of remaining illiterate, the mother learns to read and
write, and despite her blindness, the narrator marvels at her ability to move and
operate effortlessly. The title’s symbolic presence is obvious in both cases, as
the mother continues to leap, but in this sense metaphorically. When faced with
hardships or trauma, the mother continuously demonstrates an ability to get past
such events, and move forward with her life. In a sense, she accepts what is
given to her and adjusts accordingly. Never once throughout the passage is there
mention of a complaint or struggle, suggesting that not only does she effortlessly
get through that which stands in her way, but she also accepts it as is.
Symbols of tragedy and difficulty continue later on in the passage, but with
regards to the daughter, who is then 7 years old. Erdrich again throws a
challenge in the path of a character, who fearlessly accepts the event, again
demonstrating an acceptance of fate. As the daughter laid in bed, the narrator
recalls when “the house caught fire.” Normally, a 7 year old would be flustered by
such an event, and panic or do something not effective, yet instead, the daughter
“touched the back of the door without opening it,” to check for heat, and
continued to put on her “flannel robe” and “sit down to wait.” This reaction is
oddly accepting and calm, despite a frantic situation. When faced with panic and
tragedy, the daughter, even at her young age, remained calm and followed
appropriate procedure. This reaction demonstrates that even the daughter
accepts what is put in her way, even when faced with death. Again, the daughter
makes her own sort of “leap,” but this time against fire, which symbolically
represents another hurdle, and is symbolically looked over another time. In this
case and throughout the passage, characters are faced with a consistent
bombardment of tragedies which ordinarily would plague any ordinary person,
yet her characters calmly face the challenges that lie ahead, and accept what is
given to them. Through this, Erdrich begins to develop and express the overlying
theme of acceptance of fate, which plays an important role in the plot of the
passage.
Along with in poetry, imagery is an essential tool to establishing ideas and
feelings in prose. Through imagery, Erdrich enriches the text and creates vivid
feelings and images related to the tragedies experienced by her characters.
Through the use of imagery in "The Leap," Erdrich expresses the hardships
faced within the story, which are later contrasted by the character's ironically
optimistic and confident responses, which in turn demonstrates an acceptance of
fate.
In all forms of literature, word choice is a dominant technique that
establishes certain tones and moods that apply to the text and develop broader
ideas and feelings. In "The Leap," Erdrich relies on her word choice to build a
contrast that further demonstrates the theme of the passage: accepting fate. By
building negative, tragic diction, and following with calm, accepting diction which
correlates to the character's emotional and physical responses, Erdrich again
demonstrates her characters' contentment with what life has to offer.
In Louise Erdrich’s “The Leap,” she develops symbols, imagery, and
accepting, calm diction which contrasts with the nature of certain situations to
establish the way in which characters possess a certain acceptance of fate.
When consistently faced with tragedy, each of her character make their own sort
of “leap” beyond what lies in their path and onto the future. Time and time again
tragedy fails to stand in the way of each character, and each character takes
such tragedies and difficulties in stride, as if the event and impending outcome
were meant to be. Through this, Erdrich establishes a certain adherence to the
concept of “destiny” and acceptance of fate, which reigns true throughout the
passage and short story as a whole.