Question

'Behrman was a failure in art'
. Explain

Answer 1

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HOMEWORK HELP > O. HENRY

Can i get the summary of the character of Mr. Behrman in "The Last Leaf"?O. Henry

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MWESTWOOD | CERTIFIED EDUCATOR

"Old Behrman" is a sixty-year-old curmudgeon who lives on the ground floor of the "squatty three-story brick apartment building" in which two young aspiring artists, Sue and Johnsy, also dwell.

Mr. Behrman is a failure as a painter because for forty years he has intended to paint a masterpiece but still has not begun. To support himself he sometimes does illustrations for businesses, and he poses as a model for the aspiring artists in Greenwich Village who cannot afford professional models. He is a "fierce little old man" who disparages weakness of character in anyone. Notwithstanding his crusty demeanor, Mr. Behrman has a tender heart for the two girls who live above him. In fact, he "regarded himself as especial mastiff-in-waiting to protect the two young artists in the studio above."

When Sue, who has asked him to pose for her, tells Mr. Behrman that her friend Johnsy has become so weak and despondent after contracting pneumonia that she has decided to measure her life by the ivy leaves that fall off a building outside her window, Behrman is incensed: " . . . with his red eyes plainly streaming, [he] shouted his contempt and derision for idiotic imaginings." In his Yiddish accent, he includes Sue in his scoldings:

"Vass!" he cried. "Is dere people in de world mit der foolishness to die because leafs dey drop off from a confounded vine? I haf not heard of such a thing. . . . Vy do you allow dot silly pusiness to come in der brain of her? Ach, dot poor leetle Miss Yohnsy."

Answer 2

we could say...he didnt know what to draw...but he was no exception in the world of art...if his drawing werent realistic ...johnsy would have died...his extra ordinary artistic skills that he shows us by painting the ivy leaf...changes the life of johnsy..