Summary: The Last Leaf - English Class 9

The Last Leaf is one of the short stories written by O. Henry who was an American writer. He mainly composed short stories that had some moral aspects for people to analyze. The Last leaf summary portrays a time period in New York during an era witnessing a huge growth in population due to the immigration of Europeans into the USA.  

The Last Leaf

• As shown in the short story, New York was plagued with diseases due to overcrowded locations, urbanization, and improper living conditions. 
• Just like the other stories of O. Henry, this one is a sentimental one and has a tragic ending as well. 
• In this article of O. Henry The Last Leaf Summary, students will learn the summary of the story, the themes, and the characters that are portrayed in the story.

Backdrop of the Last Leaf Summary

• The Last Leaf is a tragic story that has touches of sacrifice, hope, and hopelessness. 
• The story has three main characters: two girls, Johnsy, who was also known as Joanna, and Sue. The third character was called Behrman. 
• The backdrop of the story is set in Greenwich Village. It is a  colony filled with artists. 

• Johnsy and Sue are emerging artists in their field of work. Johnsy dreams of painting the Bay of Naples but unexpectedly falls ill and awaits her death. 
• Behrman is an old character who was a very renowned painter during his time. 
• However, his only wish is to paint one last masterpiece, but he finds that he is unable to do it. 
• The story portrays a tone that is both hopeless and serious. 

The Last Leaf Summary and Analysis 

• In Greenwich Village, two girls, Johnsy and Sue, are emerging artists. They share a studio apartment that is on top of a 3-storey building.
• With the arrival of winter, bouts of pneumonia start striking the city. 
• Johnsy gets caught with a bout of pneumonia, and the doctor lets the girls know that she doesn’t have much time unless she is willing to live. According to the doctor, the will to live is actually half the cure. 
• Sue enters the room in order to complete the painting that she had started for the magazine. But she sees Johnsy looking out the window into their neighbour’s yard. She sees Johnsy counting something. 
• Upon asking, Johnsy reveals that she is counting the falling leaves of the Ivy Vine in the backyard of her neighbour’s house. 
• Johnsy claims that when the last leaf falls, her death will arrive. 

• Sue asks her friend to stop being so negative and proceeds to call Behrman to come to pose for her painting since she isn’t able to afford a proper model. 
• Behrman is an old artist who wants to paint a masterpiece but has been failing to do so for a long time. 
• Behrman comes to their house and sees Johnsy sleeping. He learns how Johnsy has lost the will to live. 
• Both Sue and Behrman are worried about Johnsy. 
• The next day, Johnsy asks Sue to open the window so that she can see the last leaf fall. However, to both of their surprise, the leaf is still there. This gives some hope to Johnsy who asks her friend to bring her some soup. 
• She again starts dreaming about painting the Bay of Naples. After the doctor arrives, he informs them both that Behrman has caught pneumonia and has been admitted to a hospital. 
• The very next morning, Sue tells Johnsy that Behrman has died. 
• He had actually spent the night painting his masterpiece. It is then revealed that the leaf that didn’t fall was painted by Behrman. 

The Themes in the Last Leaf 

• According to the last leaf summary moral lesson, there are some important themes that are mentioned. 
• Hope and Hopelessness: The main theme of the story is hope. The author aims to highlight how important it is for a person to have willpower and hope. Johnsy is provided with new hope when she sees that the leaf that is supposed to decide her fate is not falling. 
• This shows that even a small act can light the lamp of hope in a person’s heart. 
• Sacrifice: Another main theme of the story is sacrifice. Behrman sacrifices his own life in order to give some hope to Johnsy. He is aware that Johnsy thinks when the last leaf falls, she will die. So, he sacrifices his own life to paint the last masterpiece of his life. 
• The ivy leaf on the tree was painted by him so that Johnsy could live her life and have hope. 

Conclusion 

The article mentioned here conveys the last leaf summary in short. Students can use this summary to know more about the story and the moral lesson that it has.