The Last Leaf

An American short story writer, Mr. William Sydney Porter also known as O. Henry.
His writing period started in the year 1902 in New York City. Some of his most well-known
works include: “The Gift of the Magi,” “The Ransom of Red Chief,” “The Duplicity of
Hargraves” and “The Last Leaf.” He also wrote poetry and non-fiction stories. One of his
known works is “The last leaf” which was published in 1907. His stories have the most
remarkable endings because the readers will not expect that the ending of the story will
end that way. The storyline occurred at Greenwich Village with a Pneumonia outbreak. The
story of the last leaf shows how powerful faith is. It gives humankind hope, the story brings
a lot of values and wonders of life, it can even touch your feelings and emotions from the
story.
The story about the journey of two best friends took place in Greenwich Village.
Where in spring, a pneumonia epidemic occurred. The story tells us about an old artist
named Behrman, who willingly saved the life of a young neighboring artist, dying from
pneumonia. The old artist gave Johnsy the will to fight and live, continue painting, and lead
a good life. It was clearly stated in the story that Johnsy depended her life on the tree. She
was counting the leaves falling from the tree one by one. Saying that when the last leaf falls,
she will go as well. With this, her best friend and Behrman could not bear to see such a
talented girl waiting for her life to end. The leaves continue to fall day by day, but the last
leaf stayed on for several days. Johnsy realized that it is wrong to end her life like that, so
she has gathered her courage and is determined to get well. After several days, she
completely recovered. At the end of the story, she finally discovered the reason why the
leaf had not fallen yet. It was because of Mr. Behrman’s masterpiece, the painting on her
window. Furthermore, he dies of pneumonia that he has contracted while out in the wet
and cold while painting his masterpiece.
The old artist died because of pneumonia. In this story, the old artist dies because of
this disease that he has caught because of a pneumonia outbreak in Greenwich Village. The
author wants to raise awareness about the fatality and damage pneumonia can cause to
humankind. The author linked pneumonia in this story for the readers to read a story that
could entertain and give useful information to citizens all over the world. The story
depicted the symptoms and how dangerous the disease is. According to a Mayo Clinic staff,
Pneumonia can lead to mild-life-threatening situations. Children and senior citizens are the
most vulnerable to getting infected with this disease, just like Old Behrman in the story.
Also, during the creation of this story Typhoid Fever has been detected in New York.
Typhoid Fever and Pneumonia have similar symptoms.
“When the last one falls, I must go, too.” the lines that Johnsy stated towards Sue.
While we are living, we always experience some dark pages in our lives, wherein
giving up is the only thing that we wanted. The story tells us that some people think that
dying is the only option for someone who has no hopes for living. But Sue told Johnsy that
“I’d rather be here by you,” having someone who wants you to live with them is one of the
precious things in life that someone could have. Also, she stated "Think of me if you won’t
think of yourself. What would I do?” to Johnsy. Do you ever think that if you are gone, what
would be the pain and sorrows of your loved ones might suffer? But then Johnsy said “It is
wrong to want to die” that line made Sue happy because Sue knew that Johnsy would stay
with her. Having hopes and faith even in the darkest times in your life can make someone
willing to help you.
According to Aristotle’s theory, a perfect friendship is “made up of men who are
good and alike in virtue; for each alike wish well to each other.” An example of this kind of
friendship is the friendship between Sue and Johnsy. They both have similar hobbies and
characteristics that drove them to live and work together. They love painting. Based on the
story after Johnsy developed pneumonia, Sue never left her side. She was always there
taking care of her; she was there doing everything she could to save the life of her best
friend. She even worked at the hospital just to take care of her. Even saved her friend from
death.
This story that O. Henry wrote has been sentimental and implausible to the readers.
It appeals to the readers how generous of selfless Mr. Behrman is, it really provides a
unique plot. The thought of losing his own life for someone to be saved and even having a
spirit of sacrifice for someone is an act of love. He sacrifices his own life to inspire Jonhsy
to live her life to the fullest and there is where the masterpiece of Mr. Behrman was found.
It also gives us some insights into how powerful love and faith are, that you can find in
friendship. Being together through ups and downs with someone who is not willing to be
by your side is a precious kind of love. Faith can destroy any circumstances or dark places
in someone's life. Giving up, lacking hope, and not having faith are some of the dangerous
things a person could have.
“The Last leaf” also tells us how threatening an outbreak of a disease can cause. It
can take the lives, hopes, and faith of someone who is infected. The author brings
awareness to the readers by giving some facts of how a pneumonia outbreak would cause.
Would you defend your life to the leaf? Like how Johnsy thinks? The story tells us to be
strong, never give up and live life to the fullest.