The Last Leaf

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“The Last Leaf”

This story is about two women artists Sue and Johnsy who decide to live in the same house. Downstairs of their apartment lives an old man Mr. Behrman who during the period of 40 year tries to paint his own masterpiece.

Johnsy come down with pneumonia and she is nursed by Sue. The doctor have consulted Johnsy and tells Sue that her friend has only one in the ten chances to survive, but if Sue can get her to hope for something important the chance raises to one in five. Johnsy lays in bed staring through the window watching how leaves of ivy vine fall. She announces Sue that when the last leaf falls, she will die. Sue visits Mr. Behrman and confesses him the Johnsy's tragedy. She tells him that her sick friend needs a reason to live. He mocks at this suggestion. The next days, the last leaf is still on the ivy vine. The Johnsy's health is becoming better and better. The doctor came to the girls and tells them that the man downstairs is suffering from pneumonia.

The girls have found him sick and wet. Outside there was a ladder and his palette of paints where he had painted the last leaf. Sue tells Johnsy that this leaf is the Behrman's masterpiece, he has painted it in the night when the last leaf has fallen.

Text analysis

1.The title of the story is “The last leaf”, that reflects the hope. The title describes that the most important thing about the story is the leaf. This makes sense because it is the leaf that makes Johnsy to think that she is going to die and it is the last leaf as it is painted by the Mr. Behrman that makes her to live.This title is mainly connected with the main characters as Johnsy, who was waiting for the fell of the last leaf, this leaf represents her lat hope, and Mr. Berhman for whom this “last leaf” represent his desired masterpiece, his great dream came true. As the main meaning of the title represent the hope, it becomes related with the main theme and message of the story. The main theme is “the power of hope”, and the message is hope. The title is also related with the setting of the action. The action from the story take place during the late autumn, in November, the period when all the trees remains without leafs. So the title is connected indirectly with characters, theme and message and directly with the setting.

2.The main characters of the story are : Sue, Johnsy, Mr. Behrman and the minor character is the doctor whose name is not indicated in the story.

Johnsy is a young girl whose profession is painter. She earn her daily break making drawings for magazine advertisements. Johnsy suffered from pneumonia and as a result she lost her hope. She was ill and weak believing that if the last leaf of the old Ivy vine will drop off she would leave the world as well. Johnsy is characterized directly by the author : “A mite of a little woman with blood thinned by California zephyrs was hardly fair game for the red-fisted, short-breathed old duffer.” , “she feared she would, indeed, light and fragile as a leaf herself, float away”(simile) She is also characterized directly by Sue:”She is very ill and weak.” Another mean of direct characterization is self characterization, Johny characterized herself as” I have been a bad girl.”. Indirect characterization can be deduced from the action, behavior of characters. The fact that Johnsy has been lying for whole days in bed in waiting for her death shows her as a weak woman who do not want to fight for her life. “She was looking out the window and counting - counting backward.”-repetition. This describes her as a person who doesn't believe that something good may happen and shows that she is waiting for something. But later as the “last” leaf staying on the tree, she realized that “It's a sin to want to die” and became optimistic that she was going to get well and make her dreams come true. Eventually she recovered.

Johnsy is a dynamic character. She is presented as a dynamic character because at the beginning of the story she is sure that she will pass away and she even didn't try to overcome this situation but at the end of the story she have realized that it is a sin to want to die and she want to recover. She also is a complex character because she doesn't have only one dominated feature, finally she changed her view.

Sue is a young loving, kind-hearted girl and she is the best friend of Johnsy. As her friend Johnsy Sue was painter and she earned her daily break making drawings for magazine advertisements. Sue is characterized directly by the Mr. Behrman: “You are just like a woman”. Sue is mainly characterized indirectly. From her behavior and actins we can deduce that she loves Jonsy and she tries to support her.She felt very sorry about Johnsy illness but still tried whatever to comfort and encourage and take care of her. When Sue learned from the doctor that Johnsy have only one chance from ten to recover, she cried but she entered into Johnsy room whistling ragtime”obviously she wanted to cheer Johnsy up.

These two young artist gave each other help and relief in time of poverty. During their struggle for survival they went through thick and thin together. From only a few descriptions we can see the sincere friendship between them. Sue is a trusted friend who sacrificed herself in order to save Johnsy. This shows her goodness and love. last leaf struggle hope

Sue is presented as a static active character. From beginning of the story till the end Sue supported Johnsy and she tried to help her. She is also a complex character because she is constantly trying to change the Johnsy mind.

Mr. Behrman was an old, weak, poor and drunk painter. During the period of 40 years he tried to create his masterpiece but finally he managed to do this. He was a failure in art and earned a little by serving as a model to those young artists in the colony who could not pay the price of a professional. For the rest he was a fierce little old man always talking of his coming masterpiece, who scoffed terribly at softness in any one, but who regarded himself as protector the two young artists in the studio above. In the story he is mainly characterized indirectly, from his action we can tell that he appeared as a man with a great soul as he sacrificed his life in order to give the Johnsy a hope. When he learned Jonesy's silly idea, he attempted to conceal his true feeling, but the reader can tell it from his eyes. Then he painted his masterpiece the “last” leaf after the last leaf fell on the dreadful night to help Johnsy to have desire to live and then catch the pneumonia which lead to his death but saving Johnny's life. Mr. Behrman is like an hero at the end of the story. Finally he created his desired masterpiece with the price of his own life. Mr. Behrman is characterized directly by the author describing him as:” Old Behrman was a painter who lived on the ground floor..” ,” He was past sixty and had a Michael Angelo's Moses beard - (comparison)curling down from the head of a satyr along with the body of an imp(hyperbole). Behrman was a failure in art.”, “he was a fierce little old man.” He is also characterized by the doctor :” . He is an old, weak man, and the attack is acute..” He is also characterized directly by Sue :” you are a horrid old - old flibbertigibbet."- Repetition that describes him as an obstinate man.

Mr. Behrman also a dynamic character because during his life he was trying to paint a masterpiece but he didn't managed to do this, but finally at the end of his life he did this. Another example is that at the beginning of story when Sue have told him about Johnsy's problem and that it is necessary to change Johnsy's mind he criticized this as a stupid action, but finally he managed to do this for Johnsy. Behrman is a kind of round character.

The doctor is a minor character whose name is not indicated in the story. He gain his existence working as a doctor. Being characterized indirectly he is presented as a person with a good heart as he didn't disappointed Sue about the health situation of her friend, he tried to offer her a hope and he did this. Thanks to his advise Johnsy have recovered. Directly the doctor is characterized by the author:” ..the busy doctor invited Sue into the hallway with a shaggy, gray, eyebrow.”

Doctor is a static character, he is mentioned in the story but he isn't so important and he only appeared twice. He is a flat character as he has only one dominate feature described by the author, he only sais the diagnose

3.One of the major theme of the story is” The power of the hope”. The existence of hope and faith in the life changes the course of existence altogether. The hope is like a tool of overcoming all the evils that we usually face in our life. A great hope can help you to brave the disease and even the death.

Another major theme in the story is “ self sacrifice”. Mr. Behrman risks his life for Johnsy and I consider Mr. Behrman an hero because he was brave enough to go out there and paint the leaf for Johnsy. When he paints the leaf he gives Johnsy a hope. Not only Mr. Behrman have sacrificed himself , Sue also does this. She take care of Johnsy and she is always solicitously about Johnsy.

One minor theme reflected in the story is “Do not judge people by their outward appearance or social class”. In the majority of case such people have a great soul and every time they can give you a hand of help and support. A noticeable example is reflected in this story, the drunk Behrman saved Johnsy's life. Such kind of person can give you more then anyone.

4.The action from the story takes place in a little district west of Washington Square on the Sixth Avenue in the Sue's and Johnsy's apartment. Stylistic devices used to depict it:

“One Street crosses itself a time or two.”- Hyperbole

“…the streets have run crazy and broken themselves into small strips..”- simple epithets

“…Then they imported some pewter mugs and a chafing dish or two from Sixth Avenue, and became a "colony.”- Metonymy

“But Johnsy he smote; and she lay, scarcely moving, on her painted iron bedstead, looking through the small Dutch window-panes at the blank side of the next brick house.”-Metaphor

The action takes place in November. Stylistic devices used to depict it:

“In November a cold, unseen stranger, whom the doctors called Pneumonia, stalked about the colony, touching one here and there with his icy fingers.”Personification, Antonomasia (stranger Pneumonia).

“The cold breath of autumn had stricken its leaves from the vine until its skeleton branches clung,..”Personification, Simple Epithet(skeleton branches).

5. There are different tones in the story that are constantly changing . At the beginning it is present a calm and smart tone. This is till the moment when it is described " Mr. Pneumonia" then in the story is reflected a scared tone as the disease kill a lot of people. But, the tone turns a little bit more serious as the author begins to describe how Johnny is hit by pneumonia. A kind of worried tone, as Sue wand to help her friend but she doesn't' know how to change her mind and she became disappointed. The moment when it it describe Mr. Behrman appeared a kind of satirical tone especially when Mr.Behrman is described. Later the disappointed tone turns into a depressing one, as Johnsy counts the falling leaves and she is waiting for the falling of the last leaf. At the end of the story predominates a positive tone as Johnsy recovers but also is a kind of pessimistic tone when two girls discover the masterpiece of Mr.Behrman.

6.Exposition. Sue and Johnsy shared a flat on the third storey of an old house. Inciting point: In the mouth of November Johnsy got pneumonia. Complications: Johnsy thought that she would die when the last ivy leaf fell. Then Sue told Mr. Behrman about Johny's problem. Climax: Observing that the last leaf didn't fell Johnsy learnt a lesson that it is a sin to want to die. Falling action: The doctor told Sue that Johnsy would recover but Berhman had got Pneumonia, and there was no hope for him. Denouement: Sue told Johnsy that Berhman has sacrificed his life in order to save Johnsy's life.

The major conflict in the story is between Johnsy and herself(internal conflict). She is having to decide if she wants to live. Another conflict is between Sue and Johnsy this is an external conflict, she efforts to prevent Johnsy from dying when the last leaf of the vine outside the window dies but Jonhsy rejects her efforts.

7.The chronology of events in the " The Last Leaf" are organized in a straight-line narrative. This means that all the events are arranged logically and chronologically. First it is described the a little district of Washington Square place where was located the apartment where Johnsy and Sue were living together, then appeared the girls in the novel, after this it is presented a small description about the time and about the disease, (pneumonia) what killed a lot of people as a result Johnsy also became ill. Here it can be clearly observed this logically arrangement of events. As Johnsy felt bad Sue called the doctor. Learning the diagnose of the doctor Sue was disappointed and she went to Mr. Berhman to ask him for help, from this moment the narrator begin to present us who is Mr. Berhman. Johnsy was counting the falling leaves and only one leaf remained on the ivy vine. The last leaf fall in the cold night and in that night Mr. Brehman had painted his masterpiece and finally died but he saved Johnsy.

8.In the story is presented the heterodiegetic narrator. It describes the experience of the Johnsy, Sue, and Mr. Berhman, but it doesn't appear in the story as a character like in the case of homodiegetic and auctodiegetic one. According to the point of view it is a third person, omniscient because it doesn't express its judgments, opinions and has no physical forms in or out the story. It witnesses all events about Johnsy, Sue, and Mr. Berhman.

9. In the story are used two types of focalization. From the beginning of story all the events, descriptions about the pneumonia disease its effects, the information about the streets, the time, the district, details about two girls are presented from a single focalizer and which is the author. Then in the text appeared variable focalization, the moments related to the Johnsy's disease are presented by the doctor to Sue then Sue presents the same problem to Mr. Berhman who finally expresses his point of view. Also the death of the Mr. Berhman is presented from the point of view of different focalizers from the doctor's who concluded that he has couched pneumonia and Sue's who concluded that he saved the Johnsy's life by scarifying his life.

10. One important symbol in this story is “the leaf”. The leaf symbolizes the Johnsy's hope to treat her pneumonia and to survive.

Another symbol is “the masterpiece” which denotes scarification. In order to create a masterpiece ones should sacrifice something and in the majority of case ones sacrifices his/her own life or the live of some beloved persons.

The image of autumn suggests the end of the one's life. Usually autumn is associated with the end. The dark and cold colors, the cold rain and cruel wind are the elements that make Johnny's hope mere weak.

The image of night denotes the secret. During the night Mr. Behrman have painted his masterpiece. I think this was during the night time for keeping in the secret all his parturiency and the main goal of creating his first and last masterpiece.

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