Class - IX [Moments] Chapter -7: The Last Leaf by O. Henry

Class - IX [Moments] Chapter -7: The Last Leaf by O. Henry 

Glossary 

(1) Anxious – troubled
(2) Remained – continued
(3) Nonsense – absurd
(4) Clinging – sticking
(5) Shivering – trembling
(6) Seem – appear
(7) Fierce – fast
(8) Refuse – deny
(9) Finality – determination
(10) Recover – get well
(11) Stupid – fool
(12) Depressed – sad
(13) Sin – mistake
(14) Feeble – weak
(15) Afraid – scare
(16) Silly – foolish
(17) Depressed – sad
(18) Friend – companion
(19) Dream – aspiration

Overview of "The Last Leaf" by O. Henry:

"The Last Leaf" tells the story of two artists, Sue and Johnsy, who live together in a small apartment in New York. Johnsy falls seriously ill with pneumonia and loses hope, believing she will die when the last leaf falls off the ivy vine outside her window. Despite Sue's efforts to comfort her, Johnsy remains convinced that her life is tied to the leaves. In a selfless act, their elderly neighbor, Behrman, a painter, secretly paints a leaf on the wall to appear as if it is still clinging to the vine. Johnsy sees the leaf and believes it hasn't fallen, giving her hope to survive. Tragically, Behrman catches pneumonia and dies from the cold after painting the leaf, but his sacrifice saves Johnsy's life. The story emphasizes themes of hope, friendship, and selflessness.

Story Analysis 

The Last Leaf by O. Henry

Central Idea: The story revolves around hope, sacrifice, and friendship. It portrays how a selfless act of love and sacrifice can give someone the will to live, even in the face of death.

Themes:

1. Hope: The belief in the power of hope and the importance of sustaining it.
2. Sacrifice: The theme of selflessness and sacrifice for the benefit of others.
3. Art and Creativity: The transformative power of art in healing the human spirit.
4. Friendship: The bond of friendship and its ability to inspire acts of kindness.
5. Death and Survival: The struggle between life and death, and the will to survive.

Message: True friendship and selfless acts can provide hope in the darkest times. Sometimes, small acts of kindness have the power to save a life.

Underlying Message: The story suggests that people often have more strength and resilience than they realize, and sometimes, one person's sacrifice can change the course of another's life.

Literary Elements:

1. Irony: O. Henry is known for his ironic endings. The twist at the end, where the "last leaf" was painted, is a perfect example.
2. Symbolism: The "last leaf" symbolizes hope and the will to live.
3. Imagery: Vivid descriptions of the setting, especially the weather, that reflect the mood of the story.
4. Foreshadowing: The mention of the illness and the leaf in the beginning hints at the eventual outcome.
5. Characterization: The author uses direct and indirect characterization to build empathy for the characters.

Characters:

1. Johnsy: A young artist who falls seriously ill and loses hope in life.
2. Sue: Johnsy's caring and supportive friend, also an artist, who tries to keep Johnsy's spirits up.
3. Behrman: An elderly, unsuccessful artist who makes the ultimate sacrifice for Johnsy's sake by painting the last leaf.

Point of View: The story is narrated from a third-person limited point of view, focusing on the thoughts and emotions of Sue and Johnsy, while maintaining an outside perspective on Behrman’s actions.

Setting: The story is set in a small artists' apartment in Greenwich Village, New York City, during a cold winter.

NCERT Textbook Questions

Think about it (Page 48)

Question 1:What is Johnsy’s illness? What can cure her, the medicine or the willingness to live?
Answer: Johnsy, a young artist, was ill. She was suffering from pneumonia. But later on she suffered from a misconception that she would die as soon as the last leaf on the creeper would fall down. The medicine had no effect on her. Her willingness to live could cure her.

Question 2: Do you think the feeling of depression Johnsy has is common among teenagers?
Answer: Life has two aspects i.e. positive and negative. It depends upon us how we take it. Nowadays it is very common that teenagers are getting depressed because of cut-throat competition. On the other hand, a majority of teenagers who take life positively and faces difficulties boldly never lose hope and proceed further.

Question 3: Behrman has a dream. What is it? Does it come true?
Answer: Behrman had a dream to paint a masterpiece in his life. He kept waiting for the opportunity to give it a practical shape. Yes, he could materialize his dream when he painted the last leaf of the ivy creeper.

Question 4: What is Behrman’s masterpiece? What makes Sue say so?
Answer: Behrman was a 60-year old artist who had a dream to paint a masterpiece. His painting of an ivy leaf was his masterpiece which saved the life of Johnsy. It was such a painting that it was not easy to make out whether the leaf was real or it was just a painting. When Behrman died painting this life-saving painting, Sue called it a masterpiece.

Question 5: Have you ever felt depressed and dejected? How did you overcome such feelings? Share your experience with your classmates.
Ans: Opinion Based

Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)
Question 6: The last leaf is indeed Behrman's masterpiece.” Justify this statement.

An art which is aesthetically supreme as well as begets the most miraculous change in human lives is a masterpiece. An art that defies being an art but also a reality because of its deceptively real nature is a masterpiece. Behrman's last leaf looked so real that Johnsy could hardly make out that it was a planted piece of art on the creeper, though she understood at the end that it was a piece of art. Ironically, art permanently or permanently captures nature whereas nature is woven into the cycle of birth, growth and death.

The last leaf did that which Johnsy and the doctor had failed to do to stir an urge to live in Sue. The last leaf achieved this impossible thing miraculously. It also led Sue to realise that she had been uncooperative with Johnsy. She also realised that 'it is a sin to want to die'. It was Behrman's dream to draw a masterpiece before he died. What can be more appropriately defined as a masterpiece than that which dawned hope and an urge to live in a dying soul? The last leaf by Behrman is indeed a masterpiece as it gave new life to Sue.
  
Value-based Question (VBQ)

Q7: What lesson about hope and selflessness can we learn from Behrman’s sacrifice in "The Last Leaf"?

Answer: Behrman’s sacrifice teaches us the value of selflessness and how a small act of kindness can have a profound impact on others. By painting the last leaf, he not only gave Johnsy hope to survive but also demonstrated that love and sacrifice can lead to powerful and life-changing results. His actions remind us that even in the face of personal hardships, helping others can be the most meaningful thing we do.

Detailed Character Sketches (For Reading and Reference)

1. Johnsy: Johnsy is a young, talented artist who becomes seriously ill with pneumonia. Overcome by despair and a sense of hopelessness, she believes that her death is imminent, as she becomes fixated on the falling of the ivy leaves outside her window. The more the leaves fall, the more Johnsy feels that her life is coming to an end. Johnsy’s initial lack of hope represents vulnerability and a loss of faith in the future. However, she gradually regains her strength, showing her capacity for renewal, when she sees the last leaf clinging to the vine, symbolizing her own will to survive.

2. Sue: Sue is Johnsy's close friend and roommate. She is caring, devoted, and selfless, trying everything to lift Johnsy’s spirits and encourage her to fight her illness. Sue is an artist as well, but her focus is on helping Johnsy recover, even at the cost of her own well-being. She understands the importance of emotional support and demonstrates immense compassion and strength in the face of adversity. Her determination to protect Johnsy from despair is evident throughout the story, and she provides a source of comfort in the bleakest moments.

3. Behrman: Behrman is an elderly, struggling artist who has lived in the same building as Sue and Johnsy for many years. He has always dreamed of creating a masterpiece but has never found success. Despite his gruff and somewhat eccentric demeanor, Behrman has a deep, silent love for Sue and Johnsy. When he learns of Johnsy’s despair and her belief that she will die when the last leaf falls, Behrman sacrifices his own health to paint a leaf on the wall outside Johnsy’s window. His act of selfless love is revealed as the turning point that saves Johnsy’s life, though it ultimately costs him his own.