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Make a connection to Romeo and Juliet. Select one character from the play that shares traits with Anna in The Leap. Explain the traits the two characters share, and provide textual evidence to support your answer.

User Raquea
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Step-by-step explanation:

Anna, the protagonist of "The Leap" by Louise Erdrich, is a courageous and independent character who overcomes physical challenges and societal expectations. A character in Romeo and Juliet who shares some of these traits is Juliet herself.

Like Anna, Juliet defies societal expectations and risks everything for love. Juliet defies her family's wishes and falls in love with Romeo, a member of a rival family. This love puts both her and Romeo's lives in danger, but Juliet is willing to risk everything for their relationship. Similarly, Anna defies her father's wishes and becomes a trapeze artist, despite the risks involved.

Moreover, both Anna and Juliet display a certain bravery and determination in the face of adversity. Juliet refuses to marry Paris and decides to take the potion that Friar Lawrence gives her to fake her own death. This shows her determination to be with Romeo, no matter what the cost. Anna, on the other hand, overcomes her fear of heights to become a successful trapeze artist.

In terms of textual evidence, Juliet's soliloquy in Act 2, Scene 2 is a clear example of her willingness to risk everything for love: "My bounty is as boundless as the sea, / My love as deep; the more I give to thee, / The more I have, for both are infinite" (2.2.140-142). Similarly, Anna's decision to become a trapeze artist despite her fear is exemplified in her description of her first experience on the trapeze: "I could feel the air on my skin, the way it pushed and lifted me. I had no weight. I was flying" (Erdrich 220).

Overall, Juliet and Anna share traits of bravery, determination, and a willingness to defy societal expectations for the sake of love or personal fulfillment. Both characters demonstrate that it takes courage to follow one's heart, and that the rewards can be worth the risks.

User Rimu Atkinson
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