Class 9th Eng. Ch-7The Last Leaf -O HENRY SUMMARY/ CHARACTER Supplimentary) Q/A Theme, Message NCERT/CBSE Based

Ch-7

The Last Leaf-O Henry

Introduction of the Author

O Henry (1862-1910) is the pen name of William Sydney Porter. This American short story writer is known for his short stories throughout the world. His short stories are noted for being full of wit and irony. They have clever wordplays and suspenseful endings. He wrote 381 short stories. His major short story collections are Cabbages and Kings. The Four Millions and The Dream. His popular stories are The Gift of the Magi. The Ransom of Red Chief, The Cop and the Anthem and The Duplicity of Hargraves. O. Henry Award is named after him by the American Government which is given to the outstanding short story writers

Summary of the Chapter

"The Last Leaf' is a famous story written by O. Henry. It is an emotional story about a girl, who with her regained willpower wins over the situation. It is also a tale of an artist who proves how powerful a piece of art can be..

Sue and Johnsy

Two young girls, Sue and Johnsy, were two young artists who shared an apartment. In the month of November, Johnsy caught pneumonia. Sue tried her best to care for Johnsy but her condition worsened day by day. The doctor told Sue that Johnsy had lost the will to live so the chances of her recovery were very dim. He told Sue that if Johnsy regained her interest in life, only then she would survive.

Johnsy remained sad and depressed. Sue tried to revive her by talking about various things, but Johnsy remained disinterested. Soon Sue came to know that Johnsy had developed a strange belief in her mind. There was an ivy creeper on the back wall of the next house. In the cold stormy wind, its leaves were falling one by one. Johnsy started believing that she would also die when the last leaf of this creeper fell down. Sue told Johnsy that there was no link between the last leaf and her life. But Johnsy did not pay any heed to her words. Sue was counting the leaves on the creeper. There were twelve leaves left on the creeper. She believed that she would die when the last one fell. She expected that all leaves would fall in the night. Then she fell asleep.

Sue and Behrman

Sue was puzzled. She did not know what to do. An old painter Behrman lived in the same building. He was above sixty years old but hadn't yet succeeded as an artist. He had a dream to paint a masterpiece. Sue went to meet him and told him about Johnsy's fancy. Behrman and Sue went to Johnsy's room. They found her asleep. They looked out of the window and found that the creeper had only one leaf on it. It was raining heavily. Behrman went back to his room.

Johnsy and Behrman

Next morning, when Johnsy got up and asked Sue to draw the curtains, they both were shocked to see that the last leaf was still there Violent winds had blown during the night but the leaf was there. Johnsy said that the leaf would fall down soon and fell asleep. Every hour she looked out of the window expecting the leaf to fall, but it didn't. Finally she called Sue and told her that she realized that it was a sin to wish to die. Her will to live had returned. The next day, the doctor declared her out of danger.

In the afternoon, they came to know that old Behrman had died. Sue told Johnsy that he was ill only for two days. The guard found him on his bed. His clothes and shoes were wet. He was shivering. A brush, some colors, a ladder and a lantern were found near his bed. She told Johnsy that he had painted the leaf on creeper when the last leaf fell. He had gone out in heavy rainfall to paint the leaf and caught pneumonia and died. This leaf was his masterpiece.

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