The Last Leaf (by O. Henry)
Analysis
O. Henry is one of the most famous American short story writers. His real name was William Sydney Porter and he was born on September 11, 1862. In 1894 was accused of stealing money and went to prison. While in prison Porter first started to write short stories. After Porter was released, he changed his name to O. Henry and published his stories in magazines. O. Henry’s short stories are famous for their surprise endings and humor. O. Henry's wrote such classic short stories as The Ransom of Red Chief, “The Gift of the Magi” and “The Furnished Room”. One of his stories with surprise endingis The Last Leaf.
The theme of the story is hope belief and self-sacrifice. When Mr. Behrman hears of the severity of Johnsy’s condition, he decides to help. So Johnsy will be convinced to fight the pneumonia, he paints the exact image of the last leaf on the branch outside her window the day the last leaf fell. He sacrifices his health for Johnsy’s because he goes out at cold night and gets sick too. But he helps her gain hope that she was meant to live past her sickness.
The last leaf is an short story, which is written from third point of view, which is clear from following lines:
At the top of a squatty, three-story brick Sue and Johnsy had their studio. or One morning the busy doctor invited Sue into the hallway with a shaggy, gray eyebrow.
The story takes place in Greenwich Village in autumn. Sue and Johnsy met and decided to share a flat in May. In December, pneumonia started making the rounds in their neighborhood. Johnsy got sick, and the Doctor told Sue that Johnsy had a 1 in 10 chance in surviving depending upon her attitude. Johnsy was counting leaves on the vine outside of their window, and she told Sue that she expected to die when the last leaf fell. Later, Sue asked their old neighbor Mr. Behrman to pose for her