How does the author describe pneumonia
Answers
In "The Last Leaf," pneumonia is personified in different ways. First, O'Henry refers to pneumonia as "a cold, unseen stranger." This stranger "stalked" about Greenwich Village and laid his "icy fingers" on his victims. The disease is also compared to a "ravager." O'Henry also says that pneumonia is not chivalrous because he attacks a little woman, meaning Johnsy. Pneumonia is also called "the red-fisted, short-breathed old duffer."
These images make the reader call to mind a ruthless and revolting old man who wheezes, who is cold at heart, and who has fingers made of ice. By personifying the disease, O'Henry makes Johnsy's opponent seem real and makes the reader want to rally behind Johnsy in her fight against pneumonia. It is only hope and faith that will be able to help Johnsy defeat this enemy, and until she has something to believe in (which turns out to be the last leaf clinging to the ivy vine on the brick wall outside her window), she can't begin to defeat her opponent, pneumonia.
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MADELEINE WELLS
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In the story, pneumonia is personified as a bold "ravager" who stalks a community unawares and smites his victims "by scores." The author tells us that Mr. Pneumonia is a "red-fisted, short-breathed old duffer."
Based on the author's description, Mr. Pneumonia can be compared to the Grim Reaper, which is the personification of death. In the story, pneumonia acts like the Grim Reaper. He is a mercurial killer in that his choice of victim seems arbitrary.
Mr. Pneumonia's latest victim is Johnsy, whom the author describes as a "mite of a little woman with blood thinned by California zephyrs." Interestingly, it is another "old duffer" who comes to Johnsy's rescue; to placate Mr. Pneumonia, Mr. Behrman (an aging artist who lives in Johnsy and Sue's building) offers himself up in Johnsy's place.
Johnsy, discouraged by the turn her life has taken, tells Sue that she will soon die when the last leaf falls off the vine outside her window. However, the leaf never falls off, even after a powerful storm. Encouraged by the leaf's will to live, Johnsy soon recovers. Later, she discovers that Mr. Behrman spent long hours outside painting the last leaf on the vine. The leaf was a masterpiece, so realistic that Johnsy was none the wiser. Mr. Behrman's sacrifice was an unselfish act of love.
Answer:
"The Last Leaf" is a short story by O. Henry published in 1907 in his collection The Trimmed Lamp and Other Story. The story is set in Greenwich Village during a pneumonia epidemic. It tells the story of an old artist who saves the life of a young neighboring artist, dying of pneumonia, by giving her the will to live. Through her window she can see an old ivy creeper (growing on a nearby wall), gradually shedding its leaves as autumn turns into winter, and she has taken the thought into her head that she will die when the last leaf falls. The leaves fall day by day, but the last lone leaf stays on for several days. The ill woman's health quickly recovers. At the story's end, we learn that the old artist, who always wanted to produce a masterpiece painting but had never had any success, spent considerable time painting with great realism a leaf on the wall for the whole night. Furthermore, the old artist himself dies of pneumonia contracted while being out in the wet and cold.