Critical appreciation of the story 'The last leaf'by O'henry
Answers
O’ Henry is an accomplished author, as also suggested by the story ‘The Last Leaf’. The story has been brilliantly written, without leaving out any loose ends.
The setting: The story is set in ‘quaint old Greenwich Village’, where the rents are low. It is not a well-developed urban set up, but rather the opposite. It is an area preferred by struggling artists trying to make ends meet. The setting itself sets the tone of struggle and suffering, though in mild way.
Characters: There are few characters in the story. The main characters are Johnsy, a young aspiring painter suffering from pnuemonia, her friend and roommate Sue, their neighbor Behrman, an aged painter who has spent his life waiting for the opportunity to create his masterpiece and the doctor who visits Johnsy. Each of these characters helps shed light on Johnsy, her illness and her mental state. While each of them tries to do their best to help her fight the disease, she is tremendously pessimistic and is bent on dying. This makes the ill girl the focus of everyone’s attention.
Theme 1- Faith v/s Science
While the doctor tells Sue that his medicine can cure half of Johnsy’s illness, he also tells her that she has ‘made up her mind that she's not going to get well’. The fight thus becomes a psychological one between Johnsy and the pneumonia. Here, science fails while Behrman manages to keep Johnsy’s faith intact and she survives. Unfortunately, he has to pay a heavy price for it. Ultimately, faith wins over science.
Theme 2- The goodness of humanity
When Sue tells Behrman about Johnsy’s obsession with the leaf and her own chances of survival, he takes it upon himself to save the young girl. He is not even related to either of the girls and is under no compulsion to go out of the way to help them, but he does. That is how the story touches upon the goodness of the human soul. He did not even live long enough to be appreciated for his supreme sacrifice.
Theme 3- Friendship
The story shows friendship on two levels. The first example of friendship is very evident, of Sue and Johnsy. They are roommates and Sue is shown as a sincerely caring person, who does everything she can, to make Johnsy feel better. The second understated example is that of Behrman and Johnsy. In fact it is his friendship that saves the girl’s life.
Imagery:
The story is full of death related imagery like the ‘cold breath of autumn’, ‘skeleton branches’, ‘fragile as a leaf’ and many such instances. In fact, the author almost convinces the readers that Johnsy will not make it through the illness. It is only in the end that Sue discloses to Johnsy that it was in fact Behrman, the ‘fierce little man’ who painted his masterpiece and inspired her to live.
Irony: The story is ironical in the sense that while Behrman spent his life wanting to create his masterpiece, he did eventually create it, but it was recognized only after he passed away. Also, the painting did not contribute to his financial gains, but even in death, it brought him immense satisfaction, for that is why he risked his own life to complete it.
Note: Please do not write the summary of a story for its critical appreciation. Instead, use the listed headings to examine the story.