Text presentation

1.1 The title and its functions: The text under consideration is entitled The Last
Leaf implies that the most important thing about the story is the leaf. On the one
hand, this makes sense because it is the leaves that make Johnsy think she is going
to die and it is the last leaf (as painted by the old man) that makes her live. On the
other hand, it seems like the title downplays the role of the human beings in the
story. After all, it is really Johnsy's mind and Behrman's insight and kindness that
make the story happen. It seems like maybe the title should have reflected that.
1.2 The information about the author: "The Last Leaf" is a short story by O.
Henry published in 1907 in his collection The Trimmed Lamp and Other Stories.
Set in Greenwich Village, it depicts characters and themes typical of O. Henry's
works.
1.3 Functional style: belletristic.
1.4 The genre: The substyle is emotive prose. The genre is epic. The subgenre:
The subgenre is a short story.
1.5 The theme: The theme of this story is definitely self-sacrifice. Mr. Behrman
sacraficed his own health for Johnsy.
1.6 Idea: To me, the main idea of this story is that a person's attitude is what
matters the most in life. In the story, Johnsy is dying largely because she thinks she
is dying. When her roommate tries to reason with her and treat her like an adult,
Johnsy continues to fade toward death.But when the old man paints the leaf on the
wall, she becomes convinced that she is not going to die after all. Objectively
speaking, nothing has changed. But she has convinced herself that she can live
where before she had convinced herself that she would die.

1.7 Character sketch:

Sue is a young budding artist. She is struggling to prove her painting skills. She
was a positive girl and was very optimistic about her goal. She was supportive as
she was hope of enlightenment to Johnsy her friend. She was sacrificing also. She
devoted all her time to her friend's well being patiently. She was altogether
persistent young girl having high aspirations.
She is loving, caring, she always taking care of Johnsy.
Johnsy is a female character that leans toward the more morbid side of life. She
develops a death wish after becoming ill with pneumonia and loses interest in the
things that used to make her happy. Eventually she comes out of this way of
thinking and begins to find reasons to live. She realizes that life is a precious thing
and she survives her near-death experience.
She is sick, easily give up, she think she is going to die when the last leaf fall down
from the tree she keep counting the leaf.
Doctor: busy and kind person, he have lots of patient to take care of, he was
always kind to Johnsy.
Mr.Behrman is the old painter, he was past sixty, at last he painted a great
masterpiece.
Mr.Pneumonia is an old and bad gentleman, he was not a nice old gentleman
he was bad because he hurt a weak little woman from California which is Johnsy.
1.8 Plot structure:
Exposition: At the top of a three-story brick building, Sue and Johnsy built their
studio. But unfortunately, Sues roommate Johnsy caught pneumonia.
Complications: The doctor told Sue that Johnsy needed a strong will to live on.
Johnsy decided that she would die when the last ivy leaf fell. Then Sue told
Behrman about Johnsys fancy.
Climax: As Johnsy was encouraged by the last leaf that wouldnt give in to the
weather, her will to live returned

Denouement: Sue told Johnsy that Behrman had performed a kind deed without
any thought of himself.
1.9 Summary: "The Last Leaf" is about a woman named Johnsy who falls ill with
pneumonia in autumn and believes that she will die when she watches the last leaf
fall. "The Last Leaf" is a short story written by O. Henry, and it was first published
in 1907 in his collection of short stories titled "The Trimmed Lamp and Other
Stories."
The story starts with Johnsy and Sue moving in to Greenwich Village in New York
City. The days start to get colder and autumn is pushing ahead with the browning
of the leaves. Johnsy falls ill with pneumonia and becomes so weak that she
believes that she is close to death. She watches the leaves from her bedroom fall
and believes that when the last leaf falls from the vine she can see, she will pass
on. Her friend Sue stays with her and tries to keep her more optimistic. Their
neighbor that lives below them, Mr. Behrman, was also an artist, but he scoffs at
Johnsy's belief and goes to see her. That night, there is a bad storm, and with only
one vine left on the vine, Sue closes the curtains and makes Johnsy rest. She is sure
the leaf will fall that evening, but to her surprise, it is still there the next day. The
leaf persists for days, and Johnsy starts to believe that the leaf stayed in order to
show her how she sinned for wanting to die. Johnsy makes a recovery only days
later. The next day, Sue finds out that Mr. Behrman has pneumonia, too, and is
likely to pass away soon. The last leaf on the vine was in fact Behrman's
masterpiece, which he painted on the wall on the night of the storm while suffering
so that Johnsy had the strength to survive.