Question

what are the elements of a short story in the last leaf

Answer 1

Answer:

Genre

Realistic fiction; short story

Setting and Context

The story is set in Greenwich Village, New York City during a pneumonia epidemic in the early 1900s.

Narrator and Point of View

The story is narrated from a third-person perspective; the point of view stays closest to Sue.

Tone and Mood

The story's tone is one of ironic detachment; the mood is largely pessimistic, though it ends on a heartwarming note.

Protagonist and Antagonist

The protagonists are Johnsy and Sue, who are simultaneously each other's antagonists, as Sue wishes for Johnsy to live while Johnsy wishes Sue would leave her to die.

Major Conflict

The story's major conflict is that Johnsy has superstitiously tied her fate to the fate of the last ivy leaf on the vine, which is certain to fall.

Climax

The story reaches its climax when Johnsy learns that the last leaf was in fact painted on by Behrman, who therefore sacrificed his life to save hers.

Foreshadowing

When Behrman proclaims to Sue that he will paint a masterpiece one day, his statement foreshadows his brave and selfless act of painting the last leaf.

Answer 2

Let us first list out the main elements of a short story and then examine “The Last Leaf” by O’Henry accordingly.

• Characters- The main characters in this story are Behrman (the old model),  and the friends Johnsy (Joanna) and Sue. Pull out phrases from the text showing how O’Herny has described the characters, like “Michael Angelo's Moses beard” and “lying white and still as a fallen statue”.
• Setting- The story is set in a building in the Greenwich Village in New York. Some words used to describe the area are “north windows and eighteenth-century gables and Dutch attics”, a place where the “streets have run crazy” and “three-story brick” building.
• Plot- The plot focusses on Johnsy being down with pneumonia, the doctor not having much hope about her recovery, Sue trying her best to build up will power in Johnsy and Behrman ridiculing Johnsy’s belief that she will die, and Behrman’s sacrifice that saves Johnsy’s life, but at the cost of Behrman’s own life.
• Conflict- The conflict is between Johnsy being intent on dying at the fall of the last leaf and everyone else hoping that the leaf and Johnsy will survive the rain and wind.
• Theme- There are two parallel themes- that of hope/faith versus fact/science and the existence of humanity.  

It is the effect achieved by the combination of all these elements that decides whether a story is a masterpiece or not.

(Please do not write in point form. Use a paragraph to explain each point.)

More on “The Last Leaf” by O’Henry:

https://brainly.in/question/1404426