CBSE|UP BOARD|ENGLISH SOLUTION|ENGLISH LITERATURE|CLASS 9th
Hello, Dear readers,
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Today, I will be discussing all the important points related to ‘The Last Leaf by O. Henry’. I ensure you will get a complete idea to write the Summary,Theme,Character Sketch, and Question-Answer of the lesson orderly. After reading this page you will find the secret to score outstanding marks in the board examination.
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Introduction: “The Last Leaf” is a short story published in 1907 in O. Henry’s collection ‘The Trimmed Lamp and Other Stories’. It tells the story of an old artist who saves the life of a young artist, dying of pneumonia, by giving her the will to live.
About the Author
O. Henry was born as William Sydney Porter, on September 11th, 1862. He was an American short-story writer. He usually wrote tales that glamourized the everyday life of ordinary people in New York City. His stories often had surprise endings.
Although this style of writing earned him name initially, it also brought him a lot of criticism when the trend had passed. From December 1903 to January 1906 O. Henry produced a story a week for the New York World and also wrote for magazines. His initial books included Cabbages and Kings, The Four Million, The Trimmed Lamp and Heart of the West.
Three collected volumes appeared after his death: Sixes and Sevens, Rolling Stones, and Waifs and Strays. Later seven fugitive stories and poems, O. Henryana, Letters to Lithopolis, Postscripts, and O. Henry Encore, were published.
Summary
The story centers around Sue and Johnsy, two young women artists who live and work together. When winter came, Johnsy fell grievously ill with pneumonia. She showed no chances of improvement and kept looking out of her window all the time.
The doctor who visited told Sue that Johnsy’s only chance to survive was the will to live. According to him, without wanting to live, the medicines would have no effect and Johnsy wouldn’t regain her health. Sue tried her best to make Johnsy take an interest in things around her. But Johnsy was unresponsive to Sue’s attempts to cheer her up.
One day Sue heard some whispers from Johnsy and rushed to her side. She heard Johnsy count the leaves falling from the ivy creeper outside her window. Johnsy asserted that when the last leaf fell to the ground, she would die. Sue told Johnsy that she was being silly and that the doctor had given her a good chance of recovery.
When Sue brought her a bowl of soup, she denied being hungry. All she wanted was to see the last leaf fall. Sue once again tried to convince her that she was not going to die. She told her that she had to finish the painting and get some money. She even made her promise that she wouldn’t look out of the window while she painted. Sue asked her to sleep as she went to call Behrman to be her model for a painting.
Behrman was a sixty-year-old painter. He always wanted to paint a masterpiece but that had remained a dream. Sue said to him,”How Johnsy was convinced that she would die when the last leaf fell.” Behrman went with Sue to see Johnsy. While Johnsy slept, Sue and Behrman looked at the ivy vine. It was raining cats and dogs along with an icy-cold wind. It seemed as though the leaf would fall any minute now. Without saying a word, Behrman went back to his room.
The next morning when Johnsy woke up the last leaf was still there on the creeper. It looked green and healthy and in spite of the storm it didn’t fall.
Even after another storm, the leaf did not fall. Johnsy lay for a long time looking at the leaf. Then she called out to Sue. Johnsy eventually realised how hard she was on her friend. She realised that it was a sin to want to die. Later when the doctor visited he said that she would soon recover. Then told the women that he had to visit Behrman as he too was suffering from pneumonia and his chances of survival seemed bleak.
The next day, Sue broke the news of Behrman’s death to Johnsy. In his room, Behrman had a ladder and painting materials, which revealed that he had stayed out all night, painting the image of a leaf onto the wall so that Johnsy would think the last leaf had survived the storm. Sue remarked, Behrman had finally painted his masterpiece.
Character Sketch
Sue:
Sue is a young artist who shares the apartment with Johnsy. She is very close to Johnsy. She cooks for her, looks after her, and financially supports her in her illness. She tries unsuccessfully to bring Johnsy out of her depression. Throughout the story, Sue is working on a picture for a magazine story, using Behrman as a model, and plans to use the money she will earn to buy food for Johnsy. After Johnsy recovers, Sue is the one to inform her about the death of Behrman due to pneumonia.
Johnsy:
She lives with Sue in the same apartment. She falls seriously ill with pneumonia and becomes convinced that she will die after falling the last leaf from the vine outside her window. The doctor said that Johnsy’s hopelessness and her acceptance of death is the primary obstacle to her recovery. Sue’s attempts to cheer her up are unsuccessful. But when Behrman paints a realistic-looking leaf onto the wall outside Johnsy’s window, tricking Johnsy into believing that one leaf has improbably survived a storm, Johnsy realizes that her attitude has been unacceptable, and she regains her health.
Behrman:
Behrman is an old artist who lives on the ground floor of Sue and Johnsy’s apartment. He has been painting for many years without any commercial success, and still hopes to paint his “masterpiece.” He has a soft spot for Sue and Johnsy. He ultimately goes outside on a cold and rainy night to paint a realistic-looking leaf onto the wall outside Johnsy’s window so that she will think one last leaf has miraculously survived the storm. As a result of this sacrifice, he catches pneumonia and dies but Sue remarks that he had finally painted his masterpiece.
Theme of the Story
In the lesson ‘The Last Leaf’, there is the theme of commitment, sacrifice, friendship, compassion, hope, and dedication.
In the whole story, there is a sense that all the three painters, Sue, Johnsy, and Behrman are committed to something. Sue has a piece to draw and is working on it throughout the story, while Behrman remains focused on a masterpiece he dreams of painting. And Johnsy is committed to dying as soon as the last ivy leaf falls from the vine.
O. Henry also explores the theme of friendship. There is an obvious friendship between Sue and Johnsy. Here, Sue remains determined to help Johnsy get better. It is only at the end of the story that we realize just how committed or fond of Johnsy and Sue, Behrman actually is when he sacrifices his own life in order to save Johnsy’s.
There is also some symbolism in the story. Whenever Johnsy sees any leaf falling from the vine in many ways, it leads her into further despair. However when Behrman paints the one leaf it symbolises hope for Johnsy. Something that is noticeable when her health improves on her discovery that the last leaf has not fallen.
The ending of the story helps us fully realise the sacrifice that Behrman has made. He has given his own life to save another person’s life. In many ways the single leaf that he has painted on the wall is his masterpiece. Just as the pneumonia was taking a toll on her, the last leaf has given Johnsy back her life.
Message/ Conclusion:
Life is a gift from the creator. We need to cherish and love our lives regardless of any adversities. There is a lot more to life than just living it. Many a time, it becomes important to simply live for our near and dear ones.
Question-Answers
Q.1: What is Johnsy’s illness? What can cure her, the medicine or the willingness to live?
Ans: Johnsy is suffering from pneumonia. Pneumonia is a type of chest infection. Even in modern days if not treated on time it can prove fatal. As per the doctor, Johnsy is feeling depressed and has lost all hopes. The doctor is giving her the required treatment but her condition is not improving. It would be a combination of medicine and a willingness to live which is going to cure her.
Q.2: Do you think the feeling of depression Johnsy has is common among teenagers?
Ans: Yes the feeling of depression that Johnsy has is common among teenagers. They get depressed and stressed out for various reasons like not performing well in their examinations, trying to live up to their parents expectations and failing to do so, peer pressure etc.
Q.3: Behrman has a dream. What is it? Does it come true?
Ans: Behrman was a sixty year old painter whose lifelong dream was to paint a masterpiece. Yes, his dream does come true. He painted a green and healthy leaf clinging to the creeper on the window that was so natural that Johnsy believed that it was real and thanks to the leaf she regained her will to live. The leaf he painted was his masterpiece.
Q.4: What is Behrman’s masterpiece? What makes Sue say so?
Ans: The painting of the leaf which Behrman made after the last leaf fell was really a masterpiece. Sue has every reason to say so because it was able to inspire Johnsy to live her life. Quality or execution of painting can be debatable but inspirational value of the painting can be vouched for because of the desired end result.
Q.5: What was bothering Johnsy as she lay in her sick bed?
Ans: Pneumonia had ravaged Johnsy’s body and mind. The acute suffering robbed her of all desire to patiently wait out the crisis. She convinced herself that the time to depart had indeed come. She became obsessed with an old vine creeper that was shedding leaves one by one due to seasonal reasons. Quite illogically, she linked the dwindling number of vine leaves to her remaining life span. She concluded that the fall of the last leaf would herald the arrival of her death. Thus, she waited, quite foolishly, for the last leaf to fall.
Q.6: Write a short note on the character of Berhman.
Behrman is an old artist who lives on the ground floor of Sue and Johnsy’s apartment. He has been painting for many years without any commercial success, and still hopes to paint his “masterpiece.” He has a soft spot for Sue and Johnsy. He ultimately goes outside on a cold and rainy night to paint a realistic-looking leaf onto the wall outside Johnsy’s window so that she will think one last leaf has miraculously survived the storm. As a result of this sacrifice, he catches pneumonia and dies but Sue remarks that he had finally painted his masterpiece.
Q.7: How would you describe the character of Sue in the last leaf?
Ans: Sue is a young artist who shares the apartment with Johnsy. She is very close to Johnsy. She cooks for her, looks after her, and financially supports her in her illness. She tries unsuccessfully to bring Johnsy out of her depression. Throughout the story, Sue is working on a picture for a magazine story, using Behrman as a model, and plans to use the money she will earn to buy food for Johnsy. After Johnsy recovers, Sue is the one to inform her that Behrman has died of pneumonia.
Q.8: Bring out the theme in the story ‘The Last Leaf’.
Ans: Throughout the story, there is a sense that all the three painters, Sue, Johnsy and Behrman are committed to something. Sue has a piece to draw and is working on it throughout the story, while Behrman remains focused on a masterpiece he dreams of painting. And Johnsy is committed to dying as soon as the last ivy leaf falls from the vine.
O. Henry also explores the theme of friendship. There is the obvious friendship between Sue and Johnsy. Here, Sue remains determined to help Johnsy get better. It is only at the end of the story that we realise just how committed or fond of Johnsy and Sue, Behrman actually is when he sacrifices his own life in order to save Johnsy’s.
There is also some symbolism in the story. Each leaf that Johnsy sees falling from the vine in many ways leads her into further despair. However when Behrman paints the one leaf it symbolises hope for Johnsy. Something that is noticeable when her health improves on her discovery that the last leaf has not fallen.
The ending of the story helps us fully realise the sacrifice that Behrman has made. He has given his own life in order to save another person’s life and in many ways the single leaf that he has painted on the wall is his masterpiece. Just as the pneumonia was taking a toll on her, the last leaf has given Johnsy back her life.
Thus, in ‘The Last Leaf’ by O. Henry, we have the themes of commitment, sacrifice, friendship, compassion, hope and dedication.
Content Writer- Vaishnavi Tripathi…… Edited by- Shadab Akhtar.