..."The Last Leaf" by O. Henry is an interesting short story about a sick girl named Johnsy, who is deeply affected by a bare vine tree. Johnsy has decided she will not get well and has reconciled herself with the fact that she is going to die when the last leaf falls off the ivy bush outside her bedroom window. Johnsy's hopelessness and willingness to accept the worst without a fight is a major statement about the emotional state of the character. In his wonderful short-story “the last leaf”, using sacrificial themes, fear of pneumonia and a twist on the fatalistic tone, O.Henry depicted a really meaningful goal: Life must have hope. In brief, I love this story very much. Its plot and its characters are simply, but it is a very touching story that makes I recognize many things in life. Life is meaningful only for people who have hope and love. The hope helps us live better and heals our body and spirit. Hope is the foundation of our personal futures; each of us would probably suicide without hope. It is the virtue that helps us overcome obstacles. Without hope, we seem to give up easily like Johnsy in the story. Without hope, there is nothing. Another important thing in life is love. O. Henry, through the story, advices us should love ourselves and other people. The love between three persons, Johnsy, Sue and old Behrman makes a moving story. Johnsy had sometimes forgotten loving herself and cause the worry for Sue, but the biggest love is the love of the old Behrman for Johnsy...
Words: 389 - Pages: 2
...The last leaf “The Last Leaf” - The Hope That Heal. "The Last Leaf" by O. Henry is an interesting short story about a sick girl named Johnsy, who is deeply affected by a bare vine tree. Johnsy has decided she will not get well and has reconciled herself with the fact that she is going to die when the last leaf falls off the ivy bush outside her bedroom window. Johnsy's hopelessness and willingness to accept the worst without a fight is a major statement about the emotional state of the character. In his wonderful short-story “the last leaf”, using sacrificial themes, fear of pneumonia and a twist on the fatalistic tone, O.Henry depicted a really meaningful goal: Life must have hope. In brief, I love this story very much. Its plot and its characters are simply, but it is a very touching story that makes I recognize many things in life. Life is meaningful only for people who have hope and love. The hope helps us live better and heals our body and spirit. Hope is the foundation of our personal futures; each of us would probably suicide without hope. It is the virtue that helps us overcome obstacles. Without hope, we seem to give up easily like Johnsy in the story. Without hope, there is nothing. Another important thing in life is love. O. Henry, through the story, advices us should love ourselves and other people. The love between three persons, Johnsy, Sue and old Behrman makes a moving story. Johnsy had sometimes forgotten loving herself and cause the worry for Sue, but the...
Words: 869 - Pages: 4
...In his wonderful short-story The Last Leaf, O.Henry depicts a really admirable person - old Behrman. The story depicts the lives of artists in America at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. At that time arts people were massively settling in Greenwich Village attracted by eighteen century gables, Dutch attics and low rents, making this district an arts hub of this huge city. Two young artists Sue and Johnsy meet at a café. They become friends and find their tastes and opinions so congenial that they decide to have a joint studio and move to the top of a squatty, three-story brick house. November comes and Johnsy falls ill with pneumonia. She lies on her bed looking through the small Dutch window-panes at the blank side of the next brick house. The doctor sees that his patient has made up her mind that she is not going to get well and tells Sue privately that Johnsy has a one-in-ten chance of survival and "that chance is for her to want to live . If you get her to ask one question about the new winter styles in cloak sleeves I will promise you a one-in-five Chance for her, instead of one-in-ten". Johnsy has a high temperature; she mishears the doctor's words and thinks that when the last of the ten leaves of the ivy vine on the brick wall in front of their window falls down she will die, too. After a while Sue arranges a board and begins to paint a pen-and-ink drawing that she has to finish for the next day. She hears Johnsy's low voice, several times repeated, goes...
Words: 378 - Pages: 2
...FAITH LAPIDUS: Now, the VOA Special English program AMERICAN STORIES.Our story today is called "The Last Leaf." It was written by O. Henry. Here is Barbara Klein with the story. (MUSIC) BARBARA KLEIN: Many artists lived in the Greenwich Village area of New York. Two young women named Sue and Johnsy shared a studio apartment at the top of a three-story building. Johnsy's real name was Joanna. In November, a cold, unseen stranger came to visit the city. This disease, pneumonia, killed many people. Johnsy lay on her bed, hardly moving. She looked through the small window. She could see the side of the brick house next to her building. One morning, a doctor examined Johnsy and took her temperature. Then he spoke with Sue in another room. "She has one chance in -- let us say ten," he said. "And that chance is for her to want to live. Your friend has made up her mind that she is not going to get well. Has she anything on her mind?" "She -- she wanted to paint the Bay of Naples in Italy some day," said Sue. "Paint?" said the doctor. "Bosh! Has she anything on her mind worth thinking twice -- a man for example?" "A man?" said Sue. "Is a man worth -- but, no, doctor; there is nothing of the kind." "I will do all that science can do," said the doctor. "But whenever my patient begins to count the carriages at her funeral, I take away fifty percent from the curative power of medicines." After the doctor had gone, Sue went into the workroom and cried. Then she went to Johnsy's...
Words: 1578 - Pages: 7
...The story opens with $1.87. That's all Della Dillingham Young has to buy a present for her beloved husband, Jim. And the next day is Christmas. Faced with such a situation, Della promptly bursts into tears on the couch, which gives the narrator the opportunity to tell us a bit more about the situation of Jim and Della. The short of it is they live in a shabby flat and they're poor. But they love each other. Once Della's recovered herself, she goes to a mirror to let down her hair and examine it. Della's beautiful, brown, knee-length hair is one of the two great treasures of the poor couple. The other is Jim's gold watch. Her hair examined, Della puts it back up, sheds a tear, and bundles up to head out into the cold. She leaves the flat and walks to Madame Sofronie's hair goods shop, where she sells her hair for twenty bucks. Now she has $21.87 cents. With her new funds, Della is able to find Jim the perfect present: an elegant platinum watch chain for his watch. It's $21, and she buys it. Excited by her gift, Della returns home and tries to make her now-short hair presentable (with a curling iron). She's not convinced Jim will approve, but she did what she had to do to get him a good present. When she finishes with her hair, she gets to work preparing coffee and dinner. Jim arrives at 7pm to find Della waiting by the door and stares fixedly at her, not able to understand that Della's hair is gone. Della can't understand quite what his reaction means. After a little...
Words: 4685 - Pages: 19
