Wednesday, March 28, 2012

The Last Leaf

Why did I choose this particular book?
I am really into short stories whether by Maupassant, Chekhov or O. Henry. Within a certain small mount of word, we can go through the whole story and easily catch the author’s vision. It’s not time-consuming at all. On some occasion, o got a volume called The Best Short Stories of O. Henry of which I like The Last Leaf best, it arouse my great interest to go through the whole volume. Then I found that Henry’s work was extremely humorous and full of surprises which left a deep impression and is quite inspiring. He had also developed a peculiarly sense of humor through the use of reasonable exaggeration, thus resonating the readers as those stories often set on an ironic or coincidental circumstance. He is a humor-creator as well as a person who can truly understand the essence of life. I was amazed that while he was in prison, Porter wrote short stories to earn money to support his daughter Margaret. Perhaps his most well-known stories are “The Gift of the Magi”, about a poor couple and their Christmas gifts which have learned in my textbook. When I first read The Last Leaf, this sentimental piece about two women artists and their failed artist friend, whose theme is unselfishness astonished me, yet it was defined as a warm story. In this short story, old Behrman’s masterpiece not only encouraged Johnsy, it also touched thousands of readers’ heart. It reminds me of the old saying: life is a box of chocolate, you never know what you gonna get. Meanwhile, old Behrman had become a typical representative in so many merely nobodies of O. Henry's stories who had won him the respect of people across America and in Europe, even in the world history of literature.
While the world is composed of innumerable folks who are unable to improve their current situation and change the fate of themselves, as O. Henry once said that Life is made up of sobs, sniffles and smiles with sniffs predominating. O. Henry knew it clearly so that he wrote about those helpless, full of frustration walks of life. His humorous, energetic style shows the influence of Mark Twaina cynical major American writer skilled at poking fun on people. He really deserves the reputation “a writer of writers” as one of the greatest American short story writers. Besides, the annual O. Henry Prize Stories dedicated to writers who have a major contribution to the art of the short stories are broadcast on air every year. Those who got the prize had a great chance to be a national best-seller.
The Analysis of The Last Leaf
Abstract
O. Henry was one of the greatest American short story writers, and most of his works had a theme on humanityThis paper appreciates one of OHenrys popular short stories and tries to  explore the humanity reflected in it. Often set in his own time, O. Henry's stories are famous for their humorous language and surprise endings, to the point that such an ending is often referred to as an "O. Henry ending." His stories are usually short. The plots are exceedingly clever and interesting; humor abounds, and the ending is always surprising and unexpected. The story of The Last Leaf shows us a classical picture of the genuine friendship and self-sacrifice between three poor artists. It suggests that despite the hardships of life, people should never give up hopes and try to overcome the obstacles and change the current state and pursue a better tomorrow. There can be miracles when you believe.

Key word:
O. Henry, The Last Leaf, friendship, self-sacrifice, humor

1.     Brief Introduction of O. Henry
O. Henry was the pseudonym of the American writer William Sydney Porter in the beginning of the 20th century. Porter was born on September 11, 1862, in Greensboro, North Carolina. His parents were Dr. Algernon Sidney Porter, a physician, and Mary Porter who sometimes wrote poetry. When William was three, his mother died from tuberculosis, and he and his father moved into the home of his maternal grandmother. As a child, Porter was always reading, everything from classics to dime novels. At the age of 17, he started working in his uncle's drugstore and two years later, he was licensed as a pharmacist. Porter traveled to Texas hoping that a change of air would help alleviate a persistent cough he had developed. There, Porter took a number of different jobs over the next several years and learned a lot, first as pharmacist then as a draftsman, bank teller and journalist singer and musician. He also began writing as a sideline. On July 1, 1887, Porter eloped and got married with Athol Estes who encouraged her husband to pursue his writing. Then, he continued his contributions to magazines and newspapers. But he was accused by the bank of embezzlement and lost his job and later was arrested when Porter returned to Austin from Houston where he started writing for the Houston Post and he began popular in that his wife was dying. Unfortunately, Athol Estes Porter died from tuberculosis. Porter was sentenced to five years jail and imprisoned, but as a licensed pharmacist, worked in the prison hospital as the night druggist. He had fourteen stories published under various pseudonyms while he was in prison. Porter was released for good behavior after serving three years. Porter's most prolific writing period started in New York City where he wrote 381 short stories, a story a week for over a year for the New York World Sunday Magazine. However, despite the success of his short stories being published in magazines and collections, Porter drank heavily thus his health began to deteriorate which affected his writing, he died in 1910.
2. Plot
This story talks about the genuine friendship and self-sacrifice between three poor artists in Greenwich Village, district west of
Washington Square
. Johnsy and Sue are best friends who met by chance, one from Maine and the other from California. A young girl, Johnsy dying of pneumonia watches the leaves fall from a vine on a building out the window. She decides that when the last leaf drops, she too will die. Old Behrman, An old French man, their neighbor, is an artist and her older sister,
Sue's tutor, and struggles to paint his masterpiece. One night, during a bad storm destined to tear the last leaf from the tree, the sister closes the curtains so as to prevent her sister from seeing it fall. Much to their surprise, on the next morning the leaf remains. The last Ivy leaf ignited her desire to live and paint the Bay of Naples. In the night, the weak man had painted the leaf onto the wall with the vine, but the attack is acute. There is no hope for him to recover from the same disease, he saved her life by sacrificing his own.
3. Character Analysis
Johnsy is a girl painter suffering from pneumonia and lost her heart. She was ill and weak believing that if the last of the old Ivy leaves drop off a confounded vine, she would leave the world as well. But later as the “last” leaf staying on the tree, she realized that “It’s a sin to want to die” and became optimistic that she was going to get well and make her dreams come true. Eventually she recovered.
Sue is a loving, kind-hearted, sympathetic artist paving her way to Art who is the best friend of Johnsy. She felt very sorry about Johnsy’s illness but still tried whatever to comfort and encourage and take care of her. As the story tellswhen she learned from the doctor that Johnsy only have a one- in-ten chance to recover, she cried a Japanese napkin to a pulp, but she entered into Johnsy’s room whistling ragtimeobviously she wanted to cheer Johnsy up.
These two young artist gave each other help and relief in time of poverty. During their struggle for survival they went through thick and thin together. From only a few descriptions we can see the sincere friendship between them.
Old Behrman was an old, weak, poor painter who was past sixty living on the ground floor beneath them. He is the hero appeared in the middle of the story. He was a failure in art and earned a little by serving as a model to those young artists in the colony who could not pay the price of a professional. For the rest he was a fierce little old man always talking of his coming masterpiece, who scoffed terribly at softness in any one, but who regarded himself as protector the two young artists in the studio above. When he learned Johnsy’s silly idea, he attempted to conceal his true feeling, but the reader can tell it from his eyes. Then he painted his masterpiecethe “last” leaf after the last leaf fell on the dreadful night to help Johnsy to have desire to live and then catch the pneumonia which lead to his death but saving Johnny’s life.
4. Comment:
As one of America’s best loved writers, he is an expert and genius at contriving the surprising but logical ending. He portrayed the social life of America, the characters in his stories are usually plain and simple people portrayed in vivid and terse words. The Last Leaf is no more than 5000 words, this story is by no means long, but its plot has a great appeal to the readers and its artistic power is strong. When I finish reading the story, I closed the book, a kind of sadness welled up in my mind. I felt an irresistible impulse to speak to the main character in this story the Old Behrman: how kind you are! Your long-cherished wish, painting a masterpiece has come true. The leaf you painted at the cost of your own life will never wither nor fall.
The reason why Henry chose such a title for the story was to show the noble spirit of the Old Behrman—to sacrifice for others. The young woman-artist lying on her death bed was almost spiritually collapsed. From my point of view, the hero in this very story is Old Behrman, but at the beginning of the story, the other two main characters appeared instead of Old Behrman. He didn’t turn up until a few passages of description of them. He may be unimportant in readers’ eye, and the description of him “Behrman was a failure in art…He drank gin to excess, scoffed terribly at softness in any one…” didn’t make a good impression on readers. Surprisingly, it was this old man who painted the leaf which prompted the dying Johnsy to cast off her spiritual burden on a windy, stormy November night. This kind of indirect description of the main character shows Old Behrman’s kind, loving heart, though ugly in appearance. His noble spirit wipes out the bad former impression from my mind and I have bountiful admiration towards him.
O. Henry praised the love and humanity of life. Old Behrman sacrificed his life to paint that leaf and he created a miracle. When Johnsy’s saw the leaf clinging to its stem against the wall after the heavy storm, the loneliest thing in the world is a soul when it’s ready to give up hope of survival. The leaf is more than a leaf, it’s a symbol of the continuing of Behrman’s life, a conjunction between Johnsy and friendship in secular world, a mercy among the poor in this miserable world. It comforts the loneliest soul through the roaring north wind and the down-pour. “Something has made that last leaf stay there to show me how wicked I was. It is a sin to want to die” under this very faith, and she survived at last. Behrman gave her the greatest gifts all over the world—the most unselfish, unconditioned love and friendship and with these Johnsy regained her strength to go on her life. As the doctor put it whenever the patient began to count the carriages in her funeral procession, 50 percent should be subtracted from the curative power of medicines.
The last leaf is not afraid of coldness and chilliness, nor tempestuous gale or heavy rain, it never fades away, always there never falling down. It is the masterpiece of Behrman and symbol of his sacrifice. Using his own life to save the young artist’s, his body decreased, however, his art life remains eternally.
Love and friendship give people the power to rebirth. When he found Johnsy in bed, his red eyes streamed. Though being poor and miserable, he is full of sympathy, kindness and humanity. A never-falling leaf connects two lives, how marvelous the conception is! What a startling and reversed ending! Only in the last passage did readers and the two painters realized that the leaf was painted by old Behrman for the sake of Johnsy not by God or other magic. We got the truth by implying from the last few sentences rather than being told directly, and that gave free play of readers’ imagination. I can imagine on the dreary night, the last leaf dropped the old Behrman managed to drag the ladder with great efforts and climbed shakily the ladder high enough to paint the leaf on the wall with a lighted lantern in one hand.  He got wet from head to toe by the icy rain drops, he must be shivering with cold in the rain. When he finished how joyful would he be! When he was ill in bed he might be satisfied that he finally protected those two young artists as always. On the other hand, it was not completely clueless but logical and reasonable if readers meditate more profoundly. The deep sympathy and the sincere friendship among people from lower class make it especially pleasing and moving.
Being one of the three greatest short story writers, besides Maupassant and Chekhov, The O. Henry Award is a prestigious annual prize named after Porter and given to outstanding short stories, we can see the immense influence of O. Henry. Porter read the works of Maupassant, they are both gifted with a clear style and a keen observation of details and many of his stories set in his own time, the early years of the 20th century tell about the lives of poor people such as clerks, policemen, waitresses in New York, as well as in other places. His stories are usually short. The plots are exceedingly clever and interesting; humor abounds, and the ending is always surprising and unexpected. As Porter said: “There are stories in everything”, in his stories, it was at these inconspicuous and ordinary places that the unexpected and accidental coincidences took place all the time. It could be this restaurant, the street, that corner. He is really adept at writing about ordinary people of middle or lower social class in everyday circumstances. The author’s rich life experiences became the source of depicting such a variety of occupations. 
As being mentioned over and over again, Henry had a fine sense of humor. He uses personification to describe the Pneumonia germ as if it was a visible evil with teeth bared and claws out spread, as if it really “stalked about the colony, touching one here and there with his icy fingers”. When we read this, we would surely be deeply grieved by the misfortune of the two young poor artists and detest the villain-like germ.
His wit, characterization and plot twists were adored by his readers, but often panned by critics. Due to the limitation of the time and his attitude towards life, O. Henry’s stories stay on the depiction of a specific character at a specific time, he didn’t touch the root of the capitalism nor did he analyze the phenomena of society, therefore it confined it’s expression of realism. As he once confessed: he wrote to make a living to entertain the readers. He failed to represent a more realistic and profound aspects of the situation in that period. Too much did his stories rely on coincidence which made them astray from the reality. Those unexpected endings brought people surprises, yet from another point of view they are lack of depth and social commentary and criticism. But there is no doubt that O. Henry is a master of short stories, a original genius, a man of the people. And he is able to see a world in a grain of sand which is the essence of realism.

Conclusion:
In less than five thousand words, the story covers a bountiful content of society and the special charm of O. Henry’s work. When the ending is revealing, it reached its climax and its end. From every aspects, The Last Leaf is a masterpiece that was popular and is widely appreciated and will be treasured and cherished.
To make a comprehensive view of O. Henry's work, he not only chiefly portrayed the hero’s mentality but also fully revealed the American social reality in the late 19th century and early 20th century. O. Henry's work provides one of the best examples of catching the entire flavor of an age written in the English language and investigates the tensions of class and wealth in turn-of-the-century New York. As a writer from the bottom of society he always took sympathy on ordinary people. The Last Leaf contained a far-reaching significance and remained us that despite the hardships of life, people should never give up hopes and try to overcome the obstacles and change the current state and pursue a better tomorrow as long as there are all the goodness of life: friendship self-sacrifice. There can be miracles when you believe.

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