‘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.
Answer:
When the author says "was not motivated by literary ambition", the author means that they did not have anything to write about something that happened. Basically they didn't have much to go off of.
Answer:
The people with the virus were told to sequester themselves at home to avoid spreading the illness.
Explanation:
Answer:
This question refers to Martin Luther King's speech <em>"I have a dream"</em> and the answer is open to the personal interpretation that each one has. Anyway, I will give you an answer from my point of view that you can use as an example or modify as you like, based on what you believe.
Explanation:
This speech by Martin Luther King was recited in the year 1963, in which he sought equality between races for the future.
A current version of this speech would not be that different from the original.
Although slavery no longer exists today, discrimination against people because of their skin color continues to exist.
The phrase <em>"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."</em> it could fit perfectly into a speech of this century.
However, we know that this struggle continues, we can see it in the protests that took place this year and the support of the vast majority of people, because we all have the same dream and we want this to change in the future.
The first sentence of your answers
