1. Sydney Meyer Amy Olshansky Kennedy Nodler Sarah Michels Sydney O’Shea
The LAST LEAF O.HENRY
Sydney Meyer Amy Olshansky Kennedy Nodler Sarah Michels Sydney O’Shea
Teddy Monteith

2. O. Henry’s Writing Style
Writing style is interpretative. We find O Henry’s writing style to be desultory and sporadic. He has, in many examples, poorly explained emotion but been a good descriptive, sensory writer. For example, the line “In one corner was a blank canvas on an easel that had been waiting there for twenty-five years to receive the first line of the masterpiece,” paints a picture in our heads of what the canvas looked like, and the aura that surrounds it. In the line “Wearily Sue obeyed. But, lo! After the beating rain and fierce gusts of wind that had endured through the livelong night, there yet stood out against the brick wall one ivy leaf,” we see random change in scene without much transition. When he writes "I've been a bad girl, Sudie," said Johnsy. "Something has made that last leaf stay there to show me how wicked I was,” it feels really stiff. The emotion in this line is poorly conveyed. He does better with sensory detain than describing emotions. Ergo, when the characters feel shame, grief, fear, etc, it just feels a bit underemphasized.

3. PLOT SUMMARY
Two artists, Sue and Johnsy, rent a studio apartment New York. During the winter, Johnsy catches pneumonia. The doctor tells Sue that Johnsy has a 1 in 10 chance of survival, but if she has a good attitude it can be narrowed down to 1 in 5. Johnsy sees a vine growing on the side of a building and tells Sue that when the last leaf dies and falls off of the vine she will die. Sue goes downstairs to Mr. Behrman's (he is foreign) apartment and tells him about Johnsy. The next day, the last leaf is still there even though there was a bad storm. The doctor visits and says that Johnsy has a 1 in 2 chance of survival. The day after that, the doctor visits and tells Sue that Johnsy will survive. Sue wants to tell Mr. Behrman, but the doctor tells her that he caught pneumonia and was taken to the hospital where he died. He said he doesn’t know why Mr. Behrman went out into the storm but there was different shades of green paint and brushes found in his apartment.
THEME
Doing things for other people despite your own needs.

4. Literary Elements
Dialect Mr. Behrman has a distinct dialect. It is unclear which specific nationality it's from, but probably French or German. His style of speaking helps characterize Mr. Behrman as a painter, along with his description of him as a fierce old man who drank a lot and donned a Moses-like beard. The way O. Henry writes his dialogue makes it seem like Mr. Behrman is talking really fast, and you sort of get the impression that he is always gesturing with his hands. His dialect makes the reader feel like the story is more realistic. You get a picture of the characters personalities which contributes towards O. Henry's characterization. (“You are just like a woman!” yelled Behrman. “Who said I will not bose? Go on. I come mit you. For half an hour I haf peen trying to say dot I am ready to bose. Gott! Dis is not and blace in which one so goot as Miss Yohnsy shall lie sick! Some day I vill baint a masterpiece, and ve shall all go away! Gott! Yes.”) Description/Factual Throughout the story, O. Henry narrates factually. He states what happens, describes it well, but never really reflects upon the occurrences. This contributes to the story in that it leaves the interpretation up to the individual reader. The blunt style of narrating allows for a more powerful ending and message. O. Henry also places emphasis on describing the vine with the leaves compared to everything else which lets the reader know it’s especially important as a symbol in the story. Irony and Conflict Irony plays a key role in this short story and it is arguably the most important literary element. Its most prominent moment in this story is when Mr. Behrman dies instead of Johnsy. It’s ironic because everyone expected Johnsy to die because she always wanted to. Also that situation is ironic because he died while trying to “save” Johnsy. These are both examples of situational irony because they differ from what is set up to happen. The main types of conflict in this story are Character vs. self and Character vs. nature o Character vs. Nature This conflict is shown right off the bat because it talks about pneumonia. Johnsy is struggling with this disease through the story so that is probably the surface conflict. o Character vs. Self This is represented when Johnsy wants to die. She convinces herself that she is going to die as soon as the last leaf falls off the vine. This shows that she has some suicidal tendencies but she breaks this when she decides that hse would rather live on because she believes God would be angry with her if she killed herself.

5. SETTING
Greenwich Village in New York

6. POINT OF VIEW
THIRD PERSON – LIMITED

7. CHARACTERS
PROTAGONIST – Sue: motherly toward Johnsy; from Maine; artist; lives in an apartment with Johnsy
Johnsy: from California; artist; lives in apartment in New York with Sue
Mr. Behrman: old foreign man who lives near them

8. Songs
(Ain’t No Mountain High Enough) (I Will Survive)