Poem 7 - The Last Leaf

This story shows the power of hope and unselfish sacrifice. Its a tale of two artists, Jhonsy and sue who lived together in an apartment. Due to some unpleasant events, Jhonsy lost her hope for living. She says that she will die when the last leaf from the vine outside will fall. She was infected by a malicious disease and had very few chances of survival.

The moral of the story is beautiful as it teaches us the power of hope. If you have hopes in your heart, you can easily achieve your goals. Everyone requires a daily motivation to wake up and work hard to achieve their desired goals.

This chapter will educate you and make you realise the power of hope.

Summary:

The story- The last leaf by O.Henry revolves around two artists Jhonsy and Sue. They share an apartment near an artist community. Jhonsy gets ill due to a malicious disease, which was spreading widely. It was found out to be dangerous, and the whole community was vastly affected. Jhonsy was seen to be losing her hope for survival from the disease. She pins her destiny on the last leaf that she could see hanging from the vine tree while she was lying on the bed.

After consulting a physician, it was found that the chances of her survival were less. The physician said it required a strong will of survival from her side to come out of the disease. This news worried Sue, as Jhonsy’s hopes were pinned on the last leaf from the tree, which could fall at any moment.

Sue discussed the issue with a fellow artist Mr.Behrman who lived downstairs in the same apartment. A vicious storm hit the place, but surprisingly the last leaf was seen stuck to the tree. This gave hope to Jhonsy, and she felt inspired by the will of the leaf that decided to stay attached to the tree even after facing such adversity. It inspirited Jhonsy to live and gave her hopes to survive. This event filled her with a sense of determination to live. In a matter of a few days, Jhonsy was able to recover from her ailment.

Sue, after a few days, had put the reality in Jhonsy’s notice that she had a talk with Mr.Behrman and he was found dead because of pneumonia. Further investigation, stated that a burning lamp, a ladder and a palette containing the mixture of colour similar to that of the leaf, was found near Mr. Behrman’s body. He expired due to his frail condition. It then became clear to everyone that Mr.Behrman had sacrificed his life to give hopes to Jhonsy. It was he who painted the leaf to inspire Jhonsy to live.

To know more about this story, refer to NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Moments Chapter 7. You can also download The Last Leaf Class 9 Questions and Answers PDF.