THE LAST LEAF

O. HENRY

II. Culture of the Country:

In conversation, you should give

continuous feedback to the person

or at least nod continuously .

Most Americans are impatient yet

disciplined.

Most Americans work hard during

the week days and look forward to

weekends.

It is all about making money.

III. Comparison to Philippine

Culture:

It is all about making money.

Filipinos are happy people.

Friendship is vital.

Filipinos are busy both weekdays

and weekends.

IV. Connection to other

Disciplines:

PATHOLOGY

• Came from the Greek word

“pneuma” meaning the

lungs.

• The lungs is concerned for

breathing without breath,

there is no life.

VISUAL ARTS

• A masterpiece is a great

work of art, like a painting,

sculpture or piece of

music or writing (poetry,

fiction, etc.)

Psychology

• Optimism also plays a role in

the recovery from illness and

disease. Multiple studies have

investigated the role of

optimism in people undergoing

treatment for cancer. These

studies have found that

optimistic people experience

less distress when faced with

potentially life-threatening

cancer diagnoses.

V. Definition of Terms:

1. Bay of Naples — a

picturesque seacoast off the

Italian city of Naples, in

the Tyrrhenian Sea.

2. juniper berries — a fragrant,

berrylike fruit used to flavor gin

3. pharmacopoeia — a

manual of medicinal drugs

and their uses

3. duffer — an incompetent or dull-

witted person, esp. an old man.

4. Chivalric — from chivalry, a

code of honor held by knights in

medieval times which promoted

bravery, courtesy, and devotion to

the weak

5. table d’hôte —a communal

table for all guests at a hotel or

restaurant, offering a limited

number of choices at a fixed price.

VI. Synopsis/Summary:

Johnsy and Sue are artists

who move into Greenwich

Village in New York City. As

Winter approaches and the

weather gets colder, Johnsy

becomes ill with pneumonia.

She gets so sick that she

believes that when the last leaf

falls from the vine outside her

window, she will die.

An old artist, named Behrman,

who lives in the same building as

the girls, braves a storm one

night to paint a leaf on the wall

— a leaf that will never fall. Cold

and wet from painting in the icy

rain, he catches pneumonia

and dies. This gives Johnsy the

hope to survive her illness, and it

also creates the masterpiece

Behrman had always dreamed

of painting.

Start answering now!

VII. Genre:

Short Story

• 35 pages,

paperback

VIII. Universality:

A sacrifice is the act

of giving up

something, or not

having something or

doing something

yourself, to help

somebody else.

We saw how Mr. Behrman

gave his life to help Johnsy

in The Last Leaf. He made

the greatest sacrifice

anybody could make. But

sacrifices are not always

as great as Mr Behrman's.

We make small sacrifices

almost every day.

IX. Authoro William Sydney

Porter (O. Henry)

o September 11,

1862- June 4, 1910

o Master of surprise

endings who wrote

about life of

ordinary people in

New York.

X. Symbolism:

•The falling leaves-

Despair

•The last leaf- Hope

•Mr. Behrman- a true

friend/family

•Bay of Naples- dreams

XI. Figures of Speech

PERSONIFICATION

‘But the vine is killing her’ said

Sue.

“The streets run crazy and

broken themselves into small

strips called ‘places’.”

Simile “Johnsy was lying white

and still as a fallen statue.”

Imagery

“His shoes and clothing

were wet through and icy

cold.”

“I have something to tell

you, white mouse.”

Comparison “Young artists must pave their way

to art by drawing pictures for

magazine stories that young

authors write to pave their way to

literature.”

XII. Plot:

Man in Road- Johnsy

Man in Hole- Sue

Man in a Tub- Mr.

Behrman

XIII. Narrator’s Point of View:

Third person point of view

In a little district west of

Washington Square the

streets have run crazy

and broken themselves

into small strips called

“places.” These

“places” makestrange

angles and curves

XIV. Characters:

•Sue- Round and Static

•Johnsy- Round and

Dynamic

•Mr. Behrman- Round

and Dynamic

XV. Setting:

The story happens in a

three-story brick

building and the time is

the cold rainy days in

December.

XVI. Theme:When Johnsy sees the

painted leaf against the wall

through the window then she

says,

“Something has made that

last leaf stay there to show

me a how wicked I was. It is a

sin to want to die.”