Point of View

1. What point of view does the story use? Is the story told from a first-person perspective, in which the narrator is one of the characters in the story, and refers to himself or herself as “I”? Or is the story told from a third-person perspective, in which the narrator is not one of the characters in the story or may not participate in the events of the story?

A: The Leap by Louis Erdrich is told by the narrators point of view. The story is an autobiography. The author refers to himself.

2. What are the advantages of the chosen point of view? Does it furnish any clues as to the purpose of the story?

A:The advantage of the first-person perspective is that the author can give thoughts and how she feels. First-person perspective can explain and describe more on how the characters are feeling.

3. Is the narrator reliable or unreliable? Does he/she have a limited knowledge or understanding of characters and events in the story? Does the narrator know almost everything about one character or every character including inner thoughts?

A: I would say that the narrator’s understanding and knowledge of character and events in the story is everything. But then it’s not that it is unreliable because most of the things are explained. The narrator knows everything about one character including the inner thoughts. The narrator understands and has much knowledge about one character. For the other character, the understanding and knowledge is limited but most of the thoughts were explained.

4. Does the author use point of view primarily to reveal or conceal? Does he ever unfairly withhold important information known to the focal character?

A: The point of view is used to reveal the character resolution. The narrator doesn't withhold the important information known to the focal character. The information, details, and understandings are clearly told. The point of view is the one that gives approval to Lalla’s decision of coming back.