‘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.
I wake up at 6 o’clock. I get up at 6.50. I make a cup of tea and iron my clothes. I have a shower and get dressed. I usually wear jeans, a blouse, a jumper or cardigan and boots in the winter, or a skirt and blouse in the summer. I brush my hair, put on my make-up. I pack my bag with all my teaching materials. I then put on my coat and leave the house. I walk to the bus stop. I catch the bus at 8.15, and then I pay my fare and sit down. It takes about 45 minutes to get to my destination three miles away. I get off the bus and walk to the school where I teach English. I have to sign in and get the key. Class starts at 9.25 and ends at 11.25.
I have lunch at 12. I eat a baguette or sandwich at the local café. I sometimes do some shopping before I walk back to school. I do some photocopying and go back to my classroom. I teach in the afternoon from 1 to 3pm. I then catch the bus back home and spend a couple of hours relaxing before I cook dinner.
My son goes to work shortly after I come home. Sometimes he cooks dinner before I get home, and sometimes I cook. I like to eat rice or pasta with a sauce. I chop the onions, fry them and then mix them with garlic, tomatoes, carrots, spinach and chilies. I boil the rice and then add the sauce. After dinner I wash up, sweep the floor, and tidy up a bit.
Among the choices, the text from "After Twenty Years" that best provides evidence that "Silky Bob" was surprised that his friend is now a policeman is A. <span>"His hand was steady when he began to read, but it trembled a little by the time he had finished."
Two best friends, Bob and Jimmy, twenty years ago, have agreed to meet in front of a hardware store at exactly 10 pm. Bob was waiting for his friend Jimmy when a policeman approached him and asked what he was doing there. The policeman afterwards left. A man who introduced himself as Jimmy then approached Bob. However, while walking down the street, as light hit the other man's face, Bob realized that it wasn't his friend. The man then told him he was arrested and handed him a note. It was then that Bob realized that the policeman earlier was his friend Jimmy. Jimmy was unable to arrest his friend so instead, he asked a bystander to confront Bob. </span>
