Behrmann was a painter and he had the ambition of painting a masterpiece. One his his neighbors, johnsy was down with pneumonia and had the belief that if the last leaf should fall off a particular plant, she won't recover from her illness.
As a great human being, Berhman was out painting in a snowy night for his neighbor with pneumonia. He felt the painting was going to save her life. This shows him to be a good person. Selfless and a good neighbor.
As a great painter, his painting of the lead appeared to be very realistic. Johnsy felt it was real. It helped her to recover.
In my opinion, Behrman was a great human being. No doubt he was a talented artist, which is evident from his painting of the leaf on the wall. The painting was so realistic that everyone thought it was a real leaf, which saved Johnsy’s life. Johnsy had made up her mind that she would die of her illness the day the last leaf fell off the creeper.
However, Behrman decided to help Sue, her friend, who was worried about the effect the falling of the last leaf would have on Johnsy. This shows how caring, selfless and concerned he was. He went out in the stormy and cold night to paint the leaf, and came back soaked to the skin, in no condition to even remove his wet clothes and shoes. He made the supreme sacrifice of his life to save the life of another human being.
Ponyboy Curtis doesn't like some of the people in his gang, especially Dallas Winston, but he would still do anything for Dallas and would defend him from danger if possible.