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THE LAST LEAF, , 7 -0O. Henry, , 5 ymmary . 5, y ‘The Last Leaf’ is a story of supreme sacrifj, e ae paints a masterpiece to keep someone’s ho, peli cause. His sacrifice fulfils his ambition of, g e were two young artists. They shared a smal, and ayant) fell ill in November. She had pneumon:, ee d that Johnsy had lost the will to live. N,, , ce by an old artist. The old artist, , pes and willpower alive. He dies in, , ia. Sue sent for a doctor. The doctor, 0 medicine could help her., , eper. She began to think that she would die with the fall of the last |, aoe from bad to worse each day., , gye was much worried and wanted to hel, , p her. She tried her best to revive Johnsy’s, merest in life. But she failed. Sue told thi, , Ss problem to their common friend, Behrman., , , , improved and regained faith in her life., , Sue told Johnsy all about Behrman who sacrificed his life for saving her life. Behrman, died of pneumonia. He made a supreme sacrifice., , , , Contextual WUT EES Ci Expression, , , , is Reluctantly — unwillingly and hesitantly, e Gloomy —~ feeling depression; depressing, |, sad and without hope, * Feeble — weak, ¢ Janitor — watchman, e Flutter — move highly |, and quickly, , pee a, , NCERT QUESTIONS, Think About It, , ste illingness to, 1. What is Johnsy’s illness? What can cure her, the medicine or the willingn, live? Fie, her., boas ve could cure, Ans, Johnsy was suffering from pneumonia. Only the willingness ons doctor said, She had made up her mind that she was not going to iin ie, that if she did not want to live, then medicines would no

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182 Togetter cutth® English Language & Literature—9, , 2, Ans., , Ans., , SOLVED QUESTION BANK, , Short Answer Questions, , 1., , Ans., , Nn, , Ans., , , , . Johnsy had pneumonia. Due to some financial crisis, she got depressed and lost, , i 2, Do you think the feeling of depression Johnsy has is common among teenagers?, , Yes, the fear Johnsy has, is common among the teenagers. foe ae |, depression. She had lost her interest in life. The young min s are ature,, , sensitive and emotionally unstable. They cannot cope with the demanding, , competition in their lives. They want to perform but if there is any failure, they, , go into depression., Behrman has a dream. What is it? Does it come true?, , ‘Behrman has a dream. He wanted to create a painting which would be his, masterpiece. Yes, his dream comes true when he paints the last leaf of the ivy, creeper to keep the hopes of a young girl alive though he had to lose his life doing, , so., , , , , , , , , , What is Behrman’s masterpiece? What makes Sue say so?, , Behrman was an old artist. His masterpiece was the painting of an ivy leaf., The leaf looked so real that even the artist like Johnsy could not realise its, genuineness. She thought that it was a real leaf. This leaf was a masterpiece in, the sense that it saved the life of a girl. Sue was justified in making the statement., , Who were Sue and Johnsy and how were they living?, , Sue and Johnsy were two young artists. Their economic condition was not good., They were strugglers. They lived in the artist colony. They shared a small flat., They both were good friends., , What did the doctor say about Johnsy’s chances of recovery?, , faith in life. The doctor said that she would not recover unless she had a wish to, live. Her willingness to live could save her., , Why did Johnsy link her death to the last leaf?, , Johnsy was emotionally disturbed. She developed a belief that she would die with, , the fall of the last leaf on the creeper. She started counting the leaves. In fact, she had an attack of depression too. ,

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Ans, , AMS., , long, , 1, , , , , , , , , , , , , , How did Behrman react to Johnsy's fancy?, , When Behrman came to know about Johnsy’s belief regarding the fall of |, 5 of S eaves,, , as sure to fall. He said n ing, ise ls othing, é nd went nut. He decided to do something to save her li Y i i, , 1 eS C life. It was his Masterpiece, , that saved Johnsy., , he saw the creeper and realised that the last leaf w:, , What sacrifice did Behrman make for Johnsy?, , Behrman was an old artist. He knew that the last leaf was sure to fall that night, He decided to paint a leaf on the wall. Itwas a stormy night. It was raining heavily, But Behrman completed the job. He caught pneumonia and died. ., , How did Behrman die?, , Behrman was an old artist of sixty years. While painting the leaf on the wall, he, was completely drenched. He caught pneumonia and died. But before his death,, he was successful in fulfiling his dream of making a masterpiece., , Answer Questions, , Most of the teenagers today have baseless fear like Johnsy had in the story “The, Last Leaf’. It is very common among the teenagers who go into depression. Sue,, as a good friend, helps Johnsy in coming out of the situation. According to you,, what role can the peer group play in such conditions?, , Most teenagers today have baseless fear like Johnsy had in the story ‘The Last, leaf’. Sometimes it leads them to depression. Johnsy had developed a fancy idea., She linked her life to the falling leaves of an Ivy creeper. She began to think, that she would die with the fall of the last leaf. Her condition went from bad to, Worse each day. Sue was worried about her health. She tried all medicines but, all in vain. She knew that Johnsy was in depression. In a situation of depression,, Peer group plays a very important role. The patient needs positive moral support., Any negative treatment would worsen the situation. Sue handled the situation, intelligently. She convinced Behrman to make an artificial leaf in the window., The leaf looked so real that it made Johnsy believe, It changed her mindset. It was the peer group that helped her in coming, , depression., , that her life would not end., out of

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Ans., , Ans,, , , , What did Johnsy believe about the fa “i, thing? But at the same time, she ne i, her belief. She comforts her. Do you t, qualities in his/her character? ie a ececuiniiie, te ivy _—, ee ee is uring house. It was autumn and the, ee er Toma sae the falling of leaves to hey life,, , s of the creeper were falling. sacalendestie Suet, a thought that ie the falling of each Ff baleen cites one, , uld be no relationship f . ,, , a Gomis did not argue with Johnsy and did not ties hen mati, It shows the maturity and understanding of human nature. sc rity, and willingness to help her friend in her bad time. ae ee eens 7, help her. She left no stone unturned in saving Johnsy’s ES: goo ould, always be like Sue who is mature, sincere and understanding., , ling leaves? Did Sue believe the same, Hi een with Johnsy and contradicts, ood friend should have aj] these, , Behrman sacrificed his life for someone he did not know. It was a supreme, Sacrifice, a selfless service. Discuss., , Tare virtue in one’s charact, te of humanity,, Willingness to live is more important, , er. His noble act is an, example of extraordinary gestu, , : 4nd Behrman generated, 5y Which Tevive r ., her Serious illness.

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ss Sue’s role in saving the life of her friend, Johns, , scu , a, pise’ f Sue are revealed that impress you? y. What qualities of the, , - character, without Sue’s efforts, Johnsy would not have recovere, ns Es did everything for her recovery. When Sue realised, reluctance to live, she diverted her attention by talkin, , atc. Sue tried to convince Johnsy that the falling leaves had nothing to do with, , her life. It was a natural phenomenon during autumn. She discussed the whims, , ¢ Johnsy with Behrman who created a leaf on the wall. It saved her life. In all, , 0, sy’s life. Maturity,, , d. When Johnsy fell ill,, Johnsy’s depression and, ig about clothes, fashion,, , it was Sue, who inspired Behrman to paint a leaf and save John, wisdom, resourcefulness, concern, love and affection for a friend are the values, that make Sue a true friend and a good human being., , 6 Sometimes people have deceptive appearances and their gruff exteriors hide a, generous heart. Find traits in Behrman’s character to prove this point., , ys, Behrman was a sixty-year-old unsuccessful painter, who lived in the same building, as Sue and Johnsy and made his living by working as a live model for the other, painters in the building. He was a day-dreamer in regard to his artistic skills and, hoped to paint a masterpiece some day. He was a rational person otherwise,, and scoffed at superstitions. Thus he questioned Johnsy’s superstitious belief, about dying when the last ivy leaf fell. He was capable of extreme sacrifices and, painted an ivy leaf on the wall in the rain because that would assuage Johnsy’s, superstitious belief and give her the strength of spirit to want to live on. He was, a quiet and unassuming person who did not like advertising his deeds and made, the supreme sacrifice of his life by going out on a rainy night and painting the, iy leaf masterpiece that saved a human life., , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1. Johnsy, in the story ‘The Last Leaf’, was an ideal roommate to Sue. How far do, you agree? Find character traits in her to prove or disprove this point., , Johnsy was a struggling painter by profession, who shared lodgings with a, fellow painter Sue, in a flat on the third floor of an old building. She was a, companionable flat mate when she was keeping well and the two shared common, €rests in food and fashions., , hnsy was a bad patient and when she fell ill with pneumonia, she lost her spirit, d reconciled herself to die. She was a superstitious person, and believed that, het life would end when the last leaf on the ivy creeper outside her window, fell., he was quick to realize her faults and worked hard towards mending her ways., ._'s When she saw the leaf clinging to the creeper she realized that she had been, tonal and a source of trouble to her roommate. Thus Johnsy 4 malhmowa, , teformed individual now, who strove hard to quash her weaknesses and rise, , Ove superstition,