‘The Last Leaf’, first published in O Henry’s collection ‘The Trimmed Lamp’, is quite a moving story that cherishes the treasury of life and the existence of faith and hope. While the story is set in Greenwich village, New York, it speaks volumes on the many battles humans strife through their journey of life.
The story presents the life of three struggling artists – Sue (who was from Maine), Johnsy (who was from California) and old Behrman. They live an impoverished life in an artists’ colony in Greenwich village. It is an area marked by low rents. Thus we understand that they belong to the lower strata of the society and strive hard for success while hoping to make it big one day. They understand each other's fate very well and yet support each other even at the cost of their own life. They may be impoverished but their lives are splendid. The notion of friendship and self-sacrifice is the central idea of the story and keeps the reader hooked till the end.
The story commences in Sue and Johnsy’s jointly owned apartment, that is at the top of an old three-story brick house, in an artists’ colony of Greenwich village. The two friends also use this apartment as their studio.
In the month of November, Johnsy comes down with a serious attack of pneumonia. The disease has a bad reputation in this village and seems to have taken several lives. When Sue calls for the doctor, she is told that her friend Johnsy has slim chances of survival. This was not because of her physical illness, but more because Johnsy had foolishly associated her chances of survival to that of the falling leaves of the ivy-tree.
We are then introduced to Behrman, an old artist who was way past sixty years in age. He lived on the ground floor of the same apartment as that of Sue and Johnsy. He comes forward to help Sue in saving Johnsy’s life.
The story while maintaining the surprise elements, ends with a sting in the tail. Throughout the story, we read that Johnsy was ill and was expected to die with the fall of the last leaf. However, Behrman who paints the last leaf on the wall and battles the stormy night dies of pneumonia. Behrman was successful both in painting his masterpiece and in saving Johnsy’s life. Though Behrman appears once and speaks only twice in the story, his affection for Johnsy and Sue is well manifested in the story through his sacrifice. He thus becomes the very epitome of the theme of the story that self-sacrifice through love for others achieves happiness. The unexpected ending not only creates hope for other artists like Behrman but also recognizes him as a typical O Henry hero.
Pandas : bears
Lizards are reptiles and pandas are bears
<em>A. </em>Tan uses an allusion to the familiar nursery rhyme about the cow jumping over the moon to help readers experience what the character is feeling.
<em>C. </em>Tan uses characterization, developing Jing-mei by describing how she responds to her mother's actions.
<em>D. </em>Tan uses imagery to give the reader a mental picture of the main character's experiences with her mother.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is about the personal development and growth of Pip, an orphan. Another character in the book who have entered popular culture is Miss Havisham.
The clocks that are stopped at 8:40 in Miss Havisham's house represent A. the death of her dreams when she found out her fiancé was leaving her at the altar. In pursuit of her to “freeze time,” she stopped all the clocks at 8.40 because her groom left her leaving a note which she received at 8.40. It symbolizes her hope and resentments wherein not only the time remains the same but the jewelry, wedding clothes and wedding feast were laying at the same place.
