The Last Leaf

1.0About the Author

William Sydney Porter, better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American short story writer. Porter was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. His stories are known for their surprise endings and witty narration 0. Henry deals with immortality through art-objects.

2.0Central Idea

'The Last Leaf' tells the story of an old artist by name Behrman, who saves the life of a young neighbouring artist by name Johnsy who has pneumonia and has no willingness to live. The old artist, in the rainy night, paints his masterpiece, an ivy leaf, on the wall and gives her the willingness to get cured and live. In the process of painting that hope-giving ivy leaf, he catches pneumonia and dies after two days. Such was his sacrifice to save the life of a young artist.

3.0Faith and Hope are Essential for Survival

The short story 'The Last Leaf' portrays two young women named Sue and Johnsy. They share a small flat on the third storey of an old house.

Then comes winter and Johnsy falls ill with pneumonia. She lies on her bed looking through the small Dutch window - panes at the blank side of the next brick house. The doctor finds that his patient has made up her mind that she is not going to get well, and tells Sue that Johnsy has one-in-ten chance of survival and "that chance is for her want to live." She loses all interest in life.

4.0The Masterpiece

Long illness and weariness of life had bred in her this morbid feeling. Sue tells this strange thinking of Johnsy to the old painter Behrman who lives downstairs. As a painter, he is a failure. But he has the ambition to paint a masterpiece. He dismisses this fancy as idiotic. He then comes upstairs with Sue to pose as a model for her painting of an old miner. Next morning, Sue and Johnsy are surprised to see that the last leaf is intact on the stem against the brick wall despite the beating of rain and the fierce gusts of wind throughout the night. The last leaf survives the rain and storm. And also, Johnsy's wish to live survives. Throughout, the next day and the night, the leaf clings to its stem against the wall. Johnsy now considers herself a bad girl having thought of death. The last leaf does not seem to fall and so she feels she will not die.

On the dreadful night, old Behrman had painted the last yellow green leaf which appeared attached on the stem against the wall. That is why it neither moved nor fluttered when the wind blew. The painted leaf had given the illusion of a living leaf and Johnsy has got back her urge to survive her illness. Johnsy was out of danger but it is Behrman who dies of pneumonia. With the survival of Johnsy, the permanency of art is established. The painting of the leaf was indeed the masterpiece of Behrman.

5.0Recall

• The Last Leaf is a story of supreme sacrifice by an old artist Behrman.
• Sue and Johnsy are two young artists. They share a small flat.
• Johnsy suffers from pneumonia. She links her illness with the leaves of ivy creepers. She has made up her mind that with the fall of the last leaf of the ivy creeper, she would also die.
• Her illness is made worse by these negative thoughts. Medicines have no effect on her illness.
• Sue, her best friend suggests to her that she should stop thinking negatively.
• Sue tells about Johnsy's illness to Behrman, a sixty-year-old painter who lives in the same building.
• One night, it rains heavily and there was a storm too.
• Johnsy thinks that the last leaf would fall any time and she would also die with the fall of that leaf.
• Johnsy peeps through the window to make herself sure that whether the last leaf fell or not. To her surprise, she finds that the last leaf was still on the creeper when she woke up in the morning.
• Sue tells Johnsy that the last leaf is quite green and healthy. It has not fallen. Now Johnsy smiles and starts recovering her health soon.
• Finally, Sue discloses the truth of the last leaf.
• The last leaf on the ivy creeper is Behrman's masterpiece.
• He painted it last night when the last leaf fell from the ivy.