character sketch of johnsy from "last leaf"
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Outer characterization
Her outer characterization reveals that her name is, in fact, Joanna, that she is an artist, and that she comes from California. Note that the name Joanna is masculinized by the nickname Johnsy, which makes her come across as the more masculine one in the relationship.
Inner characterization
Johnsy’s inner characterization comes across when she gets sick with pneumonia. Before getting sick, her greatest wish was to travel to Italy to paint the Bay of Naples, which reveals that art is an important part of her life. However, as she gets sicker day by day, Johnsy soon loses her wish to live and falls prey to desperation.
When she counts the leaves from the ivy vine, she is convinced that she will die once the last leaf falls. This becomes a sort of obsession with Johnsy, who seems unaware of Sue’s efforts to make her regain her wish to live.
Answer:
Johnsy is the central character in the Last Leaf. She was a young artist who used to live in a small shared flat on the third story of a building, with her friend Sue.
She fell seriously ill with pneumonia in the winter. She laid motionless all day in her bed next to the window staring at the ivy vine outside. She connected her fate with the ivy wine and became convinced that she would also die when the last leaf fell from the vine.
She was feeling depressed due to weakness, which gives rise to negative thoughts in her mind. The doctor presented her hopelessness and her acceptance of death as the primary obstacle to her recovery, but Johnsy nonetheless could not shake her insistence that she would die when the last leaf fell. Her depression had made her quite weak, both physically and mentally. She didn't really care about other people's efforts. This is shown when Sue’s attempts to cheer her up end up unsuccessful.
The leaves were falling off of the ivy very quickly due to the stormy weather. However, the Last Leaf on the plant does not fall despite rough weather and inspires hope in Johnsy that she should live. Mr. Behrman had painted a realistic-looking leaf onto the wall outside Johnsy’s window—tricking Johnsy into believing that one leaf has improbably survived a storm. She regained her health, realized that her attitude had been unacceptable, and she apologized to Sue for being uncooperative and for wanting to die. The last leaf symbolized hope, and the drive to live. Johnsy's character shows how a simple ray of hope is sufficient to dispel all the despair and hopelessness in someone's life.