the last leaf assignment pdf

A Summary and Analysis of O. Henry’s ‘The Last Leaf’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

The stories of the US short-story writer O. Henry, real name William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), are characterised by their irony and by their surprise endings, which became something of a signature of a good O. Henry short story. The 1907 story ‘The Last Leaf’ is among his most famous: along with ‘The Gift of the Magi’ it may be the best-known O. Henry story of all.

You can read ‘The Last Leaf’ here before proceeding to our summary and analysis of O. Henry’s story below.

‘The Last Leaf’: plot summary

The story focuses on two female artists. The women are named Sue and Joanna, who is known as ‘Johnsy’. They live in Greenwich Village in New York among a ‘colony’ of artists who reside in the area.

One particularly cold winter, Johnsy falls ill with pneumonia and it looks likely she will die of the disease. The doctor takes Sue to one side and tells her that Johnsy has perhaps a ten per cent chance of surviving, but what she needs is something worth living for that will give her the strength to rally and recover. He asks Sue if Johnsy has a man in her life she loves, but Sue says she has not.

Johnsy herself believes that she will perish when the last leaf of the year falls from the ivy vine outside her window. She has resigned herself to dying, much to the frustration of Sue, who is trying to help her friend.

Sue and Johnsy live in the top apartment of the house. On the ground floor, Behrman, a male artist in his sixties lives. He has a beard like Moses in Michelangelo’s famous sculpture. He is always talking about being on the brink of producing his ‘masterpiece’, but has never yet done so. He is, in short, a failed artist.

When Sue tells Behrman about Johnsy’s belief that she will perish when the last leaf falls from the vine, he scoffs at such a superstitious idea. But when Sue asks him to come and pose for her (he often poses for other artists), he agrees.

The next day, Johnsy asks Sue to roll up the blind so she can look out at the ivy vine and see if the last leaf has fallen. But when the blind is put up, they find the last leaf still holding onto the branch. The day turns into night and still the last leaf clings to the vine.

Johnsy apologises to Sue, realising how selfish it was to long to die like that. She interprets the ivy leaf’s tenacity as a sign that she should not have been so ready to embrace death.

The doctor visits and announces that Johnsy’s condition has much improved. However, he has also come to visit Behrman downstairs, who has fallen seriously ill with pneumonia. Sure enough, he dies soon after. In the final paragraph of the story, Sue tells Johnsy that Berhman painted an imitation ivy leaf and attached it to the vine on the wall the night the real last leaf fell to the ground.

That leaf, which was good enough to pass for a real leaf, is his masterpiece, which he has finally produced. But in going out into the cold weather to paint the leaf, he caught pneumonia and died.

‘The Last Leaf’: analysis

The most characteristic feature of O. Henry’s short stories, many of which run to just a few pages, is the surprise twist ending. ‘The Last Leaf’ is no exception.

Two key details of the story – Johnsy’s belief that the last leaf on the vine is a ‘sign’ of her own imminent demise, Behrman’s belief that he is imminently about to produce his life’s ‘masterpiece’ – converge at the story’s close, as it is revealed that Johnsy’s superstitious belief (which Behrman mocked as silly) is what enabled him to paint his masterpiece.

Similarly, the existence of Behrman’s fake leaf gives Johnsy the necessary mental strength to turn a corner with her illness and realise how wrong it was to wish for death.

A number of O. Henry stories contain profound irony, especially in their final plot twists. ‘The Last Leaf’ is more ironic than most, perhaps because the stakes are so high: Behrman dies of the same illness which afflicted Johnsy; Behrman gives his life in order to save Johnsy’s, but also to produce his life’s work, his ‘masterpiece’.

There is also a deep irony attached to the doctor’s earlier conversation with Sue, in which he enquired whether Johnsy had a ‘man’ in her life who might provide her with a reason to go on living. Of course, the doctor has a beau or sweetheart in mind, but Behrman – whose German surname even contains the word ‘man’ – turns out to be the unlikely saviour come to fulfil that prophecy.

O. Henry spends considerable time portraying Behrman as a failure who drinks too much gin and has led a largely wasted life. He appears to have no family and has not produced any art of note, despite self-identifying as an ‘artist’:

He was past sixty and had a Michael Angelo’s Moses beard curling down from the head of a satyr along with the body of an imp. Behrman was a failure in art. Forty years he had wielded the brush without getting near enough to touch the hem of his Mistress’s robe. He had been always about to paint a masterpiece, but had never yet begun it. For several years he had painted nothing except now and then a daub in the line of commerce or advertising.

Note how the closest parallel between Behrman and Michelangelo is in the former’s physical appearance: his beard resembles that of Moses in the great artist’s sculpture . Behrman appears more like a work of (ageing) art than he appears capable of producing one. Indeed, the comparisons with a satyr and an imp suggest he is lecherous and sinful: satyrs are fauns often associated (in artworks) with lust.

He earned a little by serving as a model to those young artists in the colony who could not pay the price of a professional. He drank gin to excess, and still talked of his coming masterpiece. For the rest he was a fierce little old man, who scoffed terribly at softness in any one, and who regarded himself as especial mastiff-in-waiting to protect the two young artists in the studio above.

The irony is, of course, that this gruff, morally questionable man who despises ‘softness’ will give his life in pursuit of saving another. And sure enough, O. Henry is quick to stress how protective Behrman is towards both Sue and Johnsy. But of course, in painting his leaf he also frees himself from forty years of artistic failure and (relative) inactivity.

What, then, is the ‘moral’ of ‘The Last Leaf’? In part, the story can be analysed as a moral fable (of sorts) about art: the best art springs out of the need to help others. Behrman may dismiss Johnsy’s belief in the last leaf falling as misguided magical thinking, but he knows that he will be providing a service to her in painting the leaf and staving off her desire for death. This is in keeping with his readiness to pose as a model for other poor and struggling young artists.

Such an attitude – the best art helps others – has a corollary: namely, that the artist is himself helped in his pursuit of great art when he is motivated to help others. The best art, O. Henry seems to be saying, springs from compassion.

If you found this analysis helpful, you might also enjoy these discussions of other classic O. Henry stories, ‘ The Romance of a Busy Broker ’, ‘ A Cosmopolite in a Café ’, and ‘ Memoirs of a Yellow Dog ’.

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The Last Leaf by O. Henry Plot Summary

The last leaf summary.

This article provides information on the last leaf summary. The Last Leaf is a short story by O. Henry. It was published in 1907 in his collection The Trimmed Lamp and Other Stories. “The Last Leaf” is a story of Johnsy, a poor young woman who is critically ill due to pneumonia. She believes that when the ivy vine on the wall outside her window would lose all its leaves, she would die too. However, her neighbor, Behrman, an artist, tricks her by painting a leaf on the wall. Johnsy recovers. However, Behrman caught pneumonia while painting the leaf. As a result, he dies.

The last leaf summary in short

This article contains the last leaf summary. It is all about the last leaf summary in short. The last leaf summary starts with two girls namely Sue and Johnsy lived together in a small flat. Both were artists. They resided on the third floor of an old house.

Johnsy fell critically ill in November. She suffered from pneumonia and used to lie in her bed without moving. She continuously gazed out of the window. Sue, her friend, became very worried. She called the doctor. Although he came every day, yet Johnsy’s condition showed no improvement.

The doctor confirmed that Johnsy was not willing to live. As a result, the medicines were ineffective to cure her ill-health.

Sue tried her greatest to make Johnsy take an interest in things around her. She talked about clothes and fashion. However, Johnsy was irresponsive. She continued to lie still on her bed. Sue brought her drawing-board into the room and began to paint.

Suddenly Sue heard Johnsy whispering something. She speedily rushed to the bed and heard Johnsy counting backward. She speedily rushed to the bed and heard Johnsy counting backward. Looking out of the window, she was saying, “Twelve!”

However, after some time she whispered “eleven”, then “ten” and so on. She saw an old ivy creeper climbing half-way up the brick wall opposite to the window. Also, the creeper was shedding its leaves in the strong wind.

Johnsy was very depressed. She created a thought that she would die when the last leaf fell. Moreover, she did not accept the soup offered to her.

Later, in the last leaf summary, Sue tried to show affection towards Johnsy. Sue told her that she would not die. She kept the curtain open as she needed the light to complete her painting. She desired to fetch money for them by selling it. Sue pleaded Johnsy not to look out of the window.

Also, she told Johnsy that she would not die. She has to live for her friends. Moreover, Sue would become lonely without Johnsy.  But Johnsy was sure that she would die as soon as the last leaf falls.

She added that she would sleep after the last leaf falls and would sleep forever. Sue was very worried about her friend’s condition. She was helpless.

Sue rushed to the ground floor to seek help from a 60-year-old painter. His name was Behrman. His lifelong dream was to paint a masterpiece. Unfortunately, it remained a dream only.

Sue told the condition of his friend to Behrman. She refused to eat and continuously looked outside the window. She declares that she would not survive after the falling of the last leaf. He condemned Johnsy for being silly. However, he agrees to paint the last leaf for Johnsy so that she could recover.

Johnsy woke up the next morning. To her surprise, the last leaf survived the storm and it was clinging to the creeper. It survived another storm in the evening too.

This incident opened Johnsy’s eyes. She apologized to her friend for being so irresponsive and depressed. She realized that it was a sin to think of death. Then, she combed, had soup, and a desire to live.

The doctor arrived. He told about the improvement in her health. He added that she would recover soon as her desire to live was back.

Sue went to see Behrman. He was only two days ill. However, he dies of pneumonia contracted while being out in the wet and cold. Sue tells this news to Johnsy. She tells her to look at the last leaf clinging to the creeper. She reveals the truth that it was the masterpiece of the old artist, Behrman.

He always wanted to produce a masterpiece painting but had never succeeded in his attempt to produce the same. However, to help her recover from her depression, he spent considerable time painting with great realism a leaf on the wall. Thus, he himself dies of pneumonia contracted while being out in the wet and cold.

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The wonderful summary thank you for this.

They did not belong to the family of gorden cook and you also didn’t write the spelling correct it’s James cook 😶😑

What’s funny is that Miss Fairchild said the line- “Money isn’t everything. But people always misunderstand things and remain stupid-” when she herself misunderstood the situation.

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• CBSE Notes For Class 9
• Class 9 English Notes and Summary
• Supplementary Chapter 7 The Last Leaf

The Last Leaf Summary & Notes - CBSE Class 9 English Moments

Summary of the last leaf.

Chapter 7 of the Class 9 English Supplementary Reader ‘Moments’ presents a short story by O. Henry titled The Last Leaf. It is a story of an aged artist who saved the life of a young artist by giving her hope to live. Want to know what happens next in the story? Read the prose summary of CBSE Class 9 English Prose Notes – The Last Leaf in the form of CBSE English Notes Class 9 here to know more about the story. We hope this summary will help students to prepare for their English exam and face it confidently.

Students can also learn how to write an effective essay by going through the essays and how to score good marks in Class 9 English papers.

CBSE Class 9 English The Last Leaf Summary

The Last Leaf is a short story written by O. Henry. The story begins with Johnsy and Sue, two young artists and friends living together in a small flat. Johnsy fell seriously ill in the month of November. The doctor diagnosed that she was suffering from pneumonia. Her friend, Sue, was really worried and tried to cheer her up so that she would recover soon, but Johnsy had given up hope of survival. She had somehow made up her mind that she would never recover and would die soon. Seeing her condition deteriorate, the doctor asked Sue to relieve Johnsy from all her worries; otherwise, her medicines wouldn’t respond to her illness.

Sue tried her best to cheer up Johnsy, but she took no interest in the surroundings. She was non-responsive to any of Sue’s efforts. One day, while Johnsy was lying on her bed, she noticed an ivy plant through the window that was gradually losing all its leaves. Seeing the bare condition of the tree, Johnsy said that she would die the day the last leaf fell off the plant. Although the ivy plant had nothing to do with her illness, Johnsy was too depressed to think positively about her own recovery.

Meanwhile, Sue continued convincing Johnsy that she would recover from her illness soon and that she should not pin her journey of survival on the last leaf of the ivy plant. As days passed, Johnsy kept counting the remaining leaves of the plant every day. Unable to bear the pain of her dear friend, Sue approached Behrman, an aged artist who lived downstairs and explained about Johnsy’s mental state. She told him how her friend had pinned her survival on the last leaf of the ivy plant.

Soon, Behrman came to visit Johnsy but found her asleep. Sue pulled the curtains off the window of her room, and they went to sit in the other room. That day, it was raining heavily, and there was a storm as well. Johnsy thought the leaves of the ivy plant would shed off soon. She hesitantly peeped out of the window and saw only one leaf on the creeper, which might fall off the plant anytime. However, Behrman said no word and returned to his room. That night, the old artist decided to do something for Johnsy. He painted a similar leaf of an ivy plant and tied it on the creeper while Johnsy was asleep. Unfortunately, while doing so, he fell ill due to the exposure to freezing cold weather and heavy rainfall outside, and after two days, he died of pneumonia.

The following morning, Johnsy looked out of the window after the vicious storm the previous night and saw there was a last leaf that was still clinging to the ivy plant. This gave her the hope to live. She realised that she was foolish to pin her survival on the last leaf of a plant. She understood that there must be a definite reason why the last leaf remained in the creeper, and it was sinful of her to want to die at such a young age. Johnsy began to gradually recover from her illness.

Later, when Johnsy was completely fine, Sue informed her that Behrman had died of pneumonia. She told her that he had contracted the disease while being out in the cold and wet weather and that he was the one who had painted the last leaf to give Johnsy hope of survival. Finally, Behrman had successfully painted his masterpiece— the leaf that saved Johnsy’s life and gave her hope to live longer, and sacrificed his own life in the process.

Conclusion of The Last Leaf

The chapter – The Last Leaf teaches students that they should not lose hope in anything so easily. They need to face tough times courageously and support people who need their help on time. The CBSE Class 9 English Moments Prose Summary of The Last Leaf will help students to have a solid understanding of the chapter.

Besides, BYJU’S has various resources such as CBSE Notes and CBSE study materials . They can download BYJU’S – The Learning App and also check out the CBSE sample papers and several years’ question papers.

Frequently Asked Questions on CBSE Class 9 English The Last Leaf

Who is the author of ‘the last leaf’.

‘The Last Leaf’ is a short story by O. Henry, which was published in 1907.

Why is it important to not lose hope in life?

Having hope gives you the courage to think that things will get better with time despite the odds being not in your favour. Hope is the only thing that will encourage you to keep moving forward.

What is pneumonia?

Pneumonia is an infection that inflames the air sacs in one or both lungs. The air sacs may fill with fluid or pus (purulent material).

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