The Leap By Louise Erdrich Analysis

Have you ever thought about the deeper meaning of a story? Have you ever looked beyond the horizon right in front of you? If not, the short stories “Contents of a Dead Man’s” Pockets by Jack Finney, “The Leap” by Louise Erdrich, and “The Trip” by Laila Lalami, all have their additions that contribute to the deeper level intended. This can be created through the topics of setting, conflict, characters, and theme. These topics help make up the plot of each story as well as the conflict and resolution. No story is the same, but they can have similar messages meant for the reader. Some can argue that these three short stories are completely meaningless, but evidence proves otherwise. To begin with, setting contributes to the idea of both similarities …show more content…
The conflict is the main draw to the reading of every book, magazine, or article. These three stories all have a conflict that unites in some way, shape, or form. “Contents” is when Tom nearly dies trying to retrieve his yellow paper. “Then his moving left hand slid onto not brick but sheer emptiness…” (page 27). As a result, Tom makes the decision to reach out and spend more time with his wife. This way, the couple will grow even closer than they were before. In “The Leap”, Anna saves her daughter from a terrible house fire. “Then I wrapped my hands around my mother’s hands. I felt the brush of her lips…” (page 44). The narrator grows closer with her mother because she took a very big risk, which the narrator knows. In “The Trip”, all of the people on the boat are there for a reason. “Thirty huddle in it now, men, women, and children, all with the anxious look of those whose destinies are in the hands of others…” (pg 49). Uniting the group of escapees is a common goal: freedom. The conflict also increases suspense. In “Contents”, Tom is eleven stories up and what feels like hours has passed. But in reality, only eight minutes had passed. “It wasn’t possible, but only eight minutes ago he had kissed his wife goodbye. She wasn’t even at the theater yet!” (pg 29). Suspense is created because so much detail was taken in, so that time seemed to slow down. In “The Leap”, the storm is acknowledged but vaguely explained. The readers don’t know if it is a big storm or anything of the like. “There was time, before the storm, for three acts.” (pg 40). “Before the storm” really causes suspense in the audience’s point of view because there is only so much time, before the storm is there and it becomes dangerous. In “The Trip”, they were already in a hurry so they wouldn’t get captured. But then, the motor has a few issues along the way. “He pulls the starter cable a few times, but nothing happens.” (pg 52). The tension rises and we