Comment on the surprise ending of the Last Leaf

‘The Last Leaf’, first published in O Henry’s collection ‘The Trimmed Lamp’, is quite a moving story that cherishes the treasury of life and the existence of faith and hope. While the story is set in Greenwich village, New York, it speaks volumes on the many battles humans strife through their journey of life.

The story presents the life of three struggling artists – Sue (who was from Maine), Johnsy (who was from California) and old Behrman. They live an impoverished life in an artists’ colony in Greenwich village. It is an area marked by low rents. Thus we understand that they belong to the lower strata of the society and strive hard for success while hoping to make it big one day. They understand each other's fate very well and yet support each other even at the cost of their own life. They may be impoverished but their lives are splendid. The notion of friendship and self-sacrifice is the central idea of the story and keeps the reader hooked till the end.

The story commences in Sue and Johnsy’s jointly owned apartment, that is at the top of an old three-story brick house, in an artists’ colony of Greenwich village. The two friends also use this apartment as their studio.

In the month of November, Johnsy comes down with a serious attack of pneumonia. The disease has a bad reputation in this village and seems to have taken several lives. When Sue calls for the doctor, she is told that her friend Johnsy has slim chances of survival. This was not because of her physical illness, but more because Johnsy had foolishly associated her chances of survival to that of the falling leaves of the ivy-tree.

 We are then introduced to Behrman, an old artist who was way past sixty years in age. He lived on the ground floor of the same apartment as that of Sue and Johnsy. He comes forward to help Sue in saving Johnsy’s life.

The story while maintaining the surprise elements, ends with a sting in the tail. Throughout the story, we read that Johnsy was ill and was expected to die with the fall of the last leaf. However, Behrman who paints the last leaf on the wall and battles the stormy night dies of pneumonia. Behrman was successful both in painting his masterpiece and in saving Johnsy’s life. Though Behrman appears once and speaks only twice in the story, his affection for Johnsy and Sue is well manifested in the story through his sacrifice. He thus becomes the very epitome of the theme of the story that self-sacrifice through love for others achieves happiness. The unexpected ending not only creates hope for other artists like Behrman but also recognizes him as a typical O Henry hero.  

Which type of rubric contains a rating scale?


specific rubric


general rubric


both types of rubrics

Should the word colonists be capitalized

A fragment is missing either a subject, verb, or both

A- true
B- False

Who notifies calypso that odysseus is to go home in the odyssey?

Which of these things most symbolizes hope and life in the play?
in the raisin in the sun part I
A. Beneatha's hair
B. The living room
C. Eggs D. Sunlight

Why are the pilgrims going to canterbury?

What is one sentence starter you can use to make sure you include evidence from the text in your written response?

Witch of the following is NOT part of a typical resume. A. Education. B. Honors and skills. C . Greeting. D. Work history

When atticus speaks of defending tom robinson, he says, "simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win." to what is atticus referring? why would it be worthwhile to fight a battle that you know you're going to lose?

Which statement is a simple sentence?

We should submit our work today because we don’t want it to be late.

While the student wrote the essay, the instructor graded papers.

The instructor found the test questions, so the student took the test.

Both students reviewed and completed all of the algebra equations.

Select all correct answers. What is the purpose of using subheadings as a text feature in your writing?
1. increases reading comprehension
2. introduces new information
3. organizes the information
4. condenses the essay
5. describes keywords to know

"Soon after, the Civil War began and Thomas A. Scott was tapped to supervise military transportation for the North. Carnegie worked beside him. The war greatly boosted the iron industry. Recognizing the opportunity, Carnegie resigned from the Pennsylvania Railroad after the war in order to turn his attention to the iron industry. After hearing about the loss of an important wooden bridge on the Pennsylvania Railroad due to fire, Carnegie organized a company to build iron bridges. This company, the firm of Piper and Schiffler, was later merged into the Keystone Bridge Company in 1863."
Which statement below is the most accurate description of the cause-and-effect relationships in the passage?
A. The Civil War caused Carnegie to become involved in the iron industry, which caused him to witness the boom in demand for iron; this in turn caused him to organize a company that built iron bridges.
B. Carnegie's resignation from the Pennsylvania Railroad Company caused him to organize a company to build iron bridges, which in turn caused him to notice the great demand for iron caused by the Civil War.
C. The fact that Thomas A. Scott was supervising the military transportation for the North caused Carnegie to notice a boom in the demand for iron; this in turn caused Carnegie to organize a bridge-building company.
D. The Civil War caused Carnegie to resign from the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, which caused him to become involved in the iron industry; this in turn caused him to notice the great demand for iron caused by the Civil War.

Is the pronoun in the sentence reflexive, intensive, both, or neither?

Joan helped herself to more pie.


A: reflexive


B: intensive


C: neither


D: both

Read these paragraphs from the story.

I told him of my morning’s work. I took the sketch from my pocket and showed it to him. As he looked, the expression of his face altered until it became more and more like that of the man I had drawn.

“And it was only the day before yesterday,” he said, “that I told Maria there were no such things as ghosts!”

Neither of us had seen a ghost, but I knew what he meant.

What does this interaction between the two men reveal about Mr. Atkinson?

Mr. Atkinson is shocked by the picture and believes James is trying to scare him.
Mr. Atkinson is suspicious of James and wonders why the man came to his place of business.
Mr. Atkinson is surprised by the picture James shows him and thinks something otherworldly is at work.
Mr. Atkinson is disturbed by his appearance in the picture and tries to make a joke about it.

Constructive criticism means: A. you only talk about the positive. B. you criticize honestly. C. your goal is to help speaker improve. D. you criticize for its own sake.

Name a modern day gothic novel and explain how it continues in the gothic tradition

Why do we use pencil to mark the paper and not pen chromatogrphy?

What kind of sentence is this?
Eugene was playing a make-believe baseball game while his cousin was studying her history lesson.

a fragment
a simple sentence
a compound sentence
a complex sentence

You have been assigned to research Edgar Allen Poe. Your teacher is very clear that your speech should focus on why he is important to American literature. Why would a definition speech be the best type of informative speech for this topic? a. Poe’s mysterious death can be outlined b. Poe’s entire life can be covered c. Poe’s significance can be explained d. Poe’s step by step rise to fame can be shown Please select the best answer from the choices provided A B C

give a thesis statement for gun control

A good handler uses the same spatula to place raw Hamburg era on the grill and then remove cooked chicken breasts from a frying pan is This correct

URGENT 20 PTS!!!!!!!!!!
How do plays express theme differently than poems do?
Plays express theme by developing the setting, while poems express theme using characterization.
Plays use staging and music to express theme, while poems often rely on characterization and setting.
Plays rely on dialogue and plot to express theme, while poems communicate theme using symbolic details and fresh language.
Plays rely on symbolic details and fresh language to express theme, while poems use mostly dialogue and plot.

Which sentence correctly uses a comma to separate the introductory phrase?

Before researchers are granted access to the rare-book stacks, they must be approved through a security screening process.
Before, researchers are granted access to the rare-book stacks they must be approved through a security screening process.
Before researchers are granted access, to the rare-book stacks they must be approved through a security screening process.
Before researchers are granted access to the rare-book stacks they must be approved through, a security screening process.

Read the excerpt from “The Lottery.”

"We're next." Mrs. Graves said. She watched while Mr. Graves came around from the side of the box, greeted Mr. Summers gravely and selected a slip of paper from the box. By now, all through the crowd there were men holding the small folded papers in their large hand, turning them over and over nervously Mrs. Dunbar and her two sons stood together, Mrs. Dunbar holding the slip of paper.


What is the purpose of the descriptive language in the excerpt?

It builds suspense as people prepare for the results.
It shows how mean-spirited the people have become.
It shows the indifference of the people toward the lottery.
It causes readers to reflect on a time when they worried.

Who were the Goths?
A. Philosophers who opposed the teachings of the church and encouraged education
B. Tribes that overran the Roman Empire and brought about the Dark Ages
C. Authors who incorporated elements of horror and suspense in their writing
D. Books that focused on ancestral curses and the sense that something was wrong

Both “A Simple Plan” and “Rescue” have a similar theme, that small efforts can make a big difference. Which details in the poems help establish that theme? Select all that apply.


A.
mowing a neighbor's lawn

B.
doing your chores

C.
listening to your brother

D.
walking a neighbor's dog

E.
listening to your neighbors

F.
helping to rescue animals in a small boat

G.
listening to the news

Which parts of this excerpt from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Ann Jacobs best reflect the theme that slavery disrupted marriage and family structures?

Both petroleum and coal are made up of complex carbon-based molecules, and both originated with living creatures of some kind. Both are vital sources of energy for the modern world and both were formed by geologic processes over millions of years. However, petroleum was mainly formed from the remains of ocean-dwelling microorganisms. Coal, on the other hand, originated from decayed vegetation in ancient swamps and bogs. In any case, it took millions of years for both coal and oil to be produced. This is the case because it took that much time for overlying sediments to produce the unimaginable heat and pressure that would one day allow us to harvest these energy resources. What is one clue word or phrase in the passage that indicates a contrast? A. Because B. Both C. In any case D. However

Which of the reasons below is NOT why authors choose to employ symbols?
a. to creatively develop a theme
b. to hide their message
c. to represent a larger, more comprehensive data

Which statements describe how Islamic scholars and Christian monks and nuns preserved past knowledge and history?
Choose all answers that are correct.


A.
They copied stories from holy books and old books.


B.
They copied pages from old books using a printer.


C.
They created books that told stories from everyday life.


D.
They made hand-written and illustrated books.

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