Picture Credit - Domain
“Life is made up of sobs, sniffles and smiles, with sniffles predominating.”
-O. Henry
‘The Last Leaf’ is a beautiful story which will redefine your idea of love and life. Set in the small Greenwich Village, this is the story of two young women called Sue and Johnsy who live together and an old man that lives in the same building.
The story is about resilience and achieving one’s dream whatever the cost and this is what teaches us that life is a fight we must keep fighting and love comes in different forms.
Introduction
Name of the Story - The Last Leaf
Writer’s name - O. Henry
Genre - Fiction
Language - English
About the Writer
Picture Credit- Domain
Born on September 11th, 1862, William Sydney Porter was an American short story writer. Better known by his pen-name O. Henry moved from his birthplace in Carolina to Texas in 1882, where he met his wife and had two children.
Some of his works include “The Gift of the Magi”, “The Duplicity of Hargraves” and “The Ransom of Red Chief”. An annual prize called the O.Henry Award has been named after him, to be awarded to outstanding short stories. He died on the 5th of June, 1910.
About the Story
The story starts with an introduction to the tiny Greenwich Village and how its streets and houses were so confusing and how most of them were occupied by young budding artists.
Sue and Johnsy were two such young artists, who lived in one such house. They had met at a cafe and had formed an instant friendship because of their common interests.
The streets of the village were now affected by pneumonia and Johnsy was one of the victims. She had fallen sick and gotten so weak, both physically and mentally that the doctor tells Sue that Johnsy will live only if she wants to live.
Sue becomes very worried about Johnsy’s declining health and especially when the latter tells her that she will go away when the last leaf from an old tree outside their window falls.
Sue goes to invite Mr. Behrman, who is an old man who lives on the first floor of their building and tells him about Johnsy’s condition. Behrman ridicules her for such an idea and then comes back to Sue’s in order for her to paint him.
Behrman is a painter too and wishes to paint a masterpiece. Sue closes Johnsy’s drapes, refusing to let her go based on her idea.
The morning comes and when they look at the tree, Sue and Johnsy see one last leaf, holding on to the tree’s branch and Johnsy realises that she has been a foul person for wanting to die.
Sue discovers from the doctor that Behrman has acquired pneumonia too and is almost in the dying state. Putting pieces together Sue comes and tells Johnsy that the last leaf, hanging to the tree, was actually Behrman’s masterpiece.
Themes Involved
The most prominent theme in the story is that of friendship and sacrifice. Sue and Johnsy are so close and it kills Sue to see her friend in such a despondent state. She does everything she possibly can for her and tries to work as much as possible so that she can acquire the money to feed her.
Mr. Behrman is a grumpy old man but he is extremely nice to these two girls so much that he sacrifices his own health and later life in order to save Johnsy from her own mind.
Famous Quotes
“The lonesomest thing in all the world is a soul when it is making ready to go on its mysterious, far journey.
“The fancy seemed to possess her more strongly as one by one the ties that bound her to friendship and to earth were loosed.”
“I want to see the last one fall. I’m tired of waiting. I ‘m tired of thinking. I want to turn loose my hold on everything, and go sailing down, down, just like one of those poor, tired leaves.”
The Bottom Line
‘The Last Leaf’ is a story that lives with you. It is written so beautifully that the ending might even leave you teary-eyed. The beautiful language used and also the various fitting literary devices that O. Henry has employed all add to the beauty of the story and makes it a must read.
My ratings for the story - 5 on 5
Read the story now at - The Last Leaf
Written By - Sakshi Singh
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