The Last Leaf

by O. Henry, K. Anderson Yancy (Foreword)

The Last Leaf is an endearing story about many forms of love and our interdependency upon one another and most importantly ourselves. In it a young woman dying from pneumonia despite the best efforts of her loving roommate, a doctor, and a mature resident in the building who has appointed himself guardian to the young lady and her housemate, soon learns that she is the key to her own life or death and in that discovery she helps a friend rise to their true greatness.

This ANNOTATED work contains:
• Story Description
• Forward
• The Story (Unabridged)
• History & Analysis
• Author’s Bio

~~~ Companion SonicMovie, premium Audio Drama, available on Amazon December 31, 2014 ~~~

Genres: Short Stories, Classics, Fiction, American, Literature, School, Audiobook

35 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1907

About the author

Such volumes as Cabbages and Kings (1904) and The Four Million (1906) collect short stories, noted for their often surprising endings, of American writer William Sydney Porter, who used the pen name O. Henry.

His biography shows where he found inspiration for his characters. His era produced their voices and his language.

Mother of three-year-old Porter died from tuberculosis. He left school at fifteen years of age and worked for five years in drugstore of his uncle and then for two years at a Texas sheep ranch.

In 1884, he went to Austin, where he worked in a real estate office and a church choir and spent four years as a draftsman in the general land office. His wife and firstborn died, but daughter Margaret survived him.

He failed to establish a small humorous weekly and afterward worked in poorly-run bank. When its accounts balanced not, people blamed and fired him.

In Houston, he worked for a few years until, ordered to stand trial for embezzlement, he fled to New Orleans and thence Honduras.

Two years later, he returned on account of illness of his wife. Apprehended, Porter served a few months more than three years in a penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio. During his incarceration, he composed ten short stories, including A Blackjack Bargainer , The Enchanted Kiss , and The Duplicity of Hargraves .

In 1899, McClure's published Whistling Dick's Christmas Story and Georgia's Ruling .

In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he sent manuscripts to New York editors. In the spring of 1902, Ainslee's Magazine offered him a regular income if he moved to New York.

In less than eight years, he became a bestselling author of collections of short stories. Cabbages and Kings came first in 1904 The Four Million, and The Trimmed Lamp and Heart of the West followed in 1907, and The Voice of the City in 1908, Roads of Destiny and Options in 1909, Strictly Business and Whirligigs in 1910 followed.

Posthumously published collections include The Gentle Grafter about the swindler, Jeff Peters; Rolling Stones , Waifs and Strays , and in 1936, unsigned stories, followed.

People rewarded other persons financially more. A Retrieved Reformation about the safe-cracker Jimmy Valentine got $250; six years later, $500 for dramatic rights, which gave over $100,000 royalties for playwright Paul Armstrong. Many stories have been made into films.

Reviews

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sue and Johnsy were girlfriends, artists who lived together in Greenwich Village, until that terrible day when Johnsy was struck down with pneumonia.
“Mr. Pneumonia was not what you would call a chivalric old gentleman”

Johnsy decides that she will die when the last ivy leaf falls from the tree outside their window. Sue can’t bear the thought of her dear friend dying, but she can’t seem to get through to her, she won’t eat or listen to Sue’s pleas.

O. Henry certainly doesn’t need a novel of great length to convey his powerful and heartwarming messages. Such a sweet little story!

[Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. You know, this is really like a parable. Or a fable by Aesop. If I did not know who the author was I’d have almost sworn (almost, for the Irishman has his own style) that Oscar Wilde wrote this. It’s so much in the spirit of The Happy Prince.

Moving. The kind of short story you don’t easily forget. I know some feel O. Henry sentimentalizes his tales. I honestly don’t have trouble with his style at all. They are like modern fairy tales, really, folk tales, along the lines of Hans Christian Andersen.

It will take less than ten minutes to read. I hope it lights a candle. You can find the story online for free at owleyes.org.

“It is the last one,” said Johnsy. “I thought it would surely fall during the night. I heard the wind. It will fall today, and I shall die at the same time.”

🍂 🖼️ 🎨

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The moment I began reading this, I knew I had read it before. An excellent story, done in O.Henry's inimitable style. The master of his genre!

[Cheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I want to see the last one fall. I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of thinking. I want to turn loose my hold on everything, and go sailing down, down, just like one of those poor, tired leaves."

A short story that is about two women, Sue and Johnsy, who live together in an apartment building in Greenwich Village, NYC, which is the setting for this short story, the only setting, adding an element of intensity to this story that helps to balance the somewhat melancholic, wistful longing.

I read this after recently reading my goodreads good friend Linda’s review, which prompted me to add this!

Linda’s review link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Flo · Rating 3 out of 5]

"It is the last one," said Johnsy. "I thought it would surely fall during the night...

"Dear, dear!" said Sue, leaning her worn face down to the pillow, "think of me, if you won't think of yourself. What would I do?"

But Johnsy did not answer. The lonesomest thing in all the world is a soul when it is making ready to go on its mysterious, far journey. The fancy seemed to possess her more strongly as one by one the ties that bound her to friendship and to earth were loosed.

A good story. Even though I prefer language with a little less sugar when dealing with certain matters. (Good grief, Hemingway, is that you?)

Dec 10, 15
* Also on my blog.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story captured my heart in junior high school many moons ago. I believe it began my love for short stories . I have thought of it many times over the years..especially in the fall when I would catch sight of a tree with only the last few leaves left upon it. Tonight was the first time I had read it once again and the magic remained. A story that would linger in the heart of a young girl for so many years is deserving of no less than 5 stars.

[Dem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faboulus little book that I will certainly try to get a copy of for my library.

I love little stoies like this that have so much meaning in so little pages.

Wonderful and enlightening.

[Antoinette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short story but a powerful story! It is a story that touches upon human kindness and the power of believing. Believing in the positives. It’s one of those stories that make you sigh and hope and pray that the goodness of people will always shine through!!

As per Peter Gabriel:

“ Bright before me the signs implore me
Help the needy and show them the way.
Human kindness is overflowing,
And I think it’s gonna rain today.....”

Everyone should read this story !!

[Diamond Cowboy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short about a person's willingness to die rather than live.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death is the unconditional truth of life. Yet, dying is a fact that all of us dread the most. It is the trepidation of death which makes us live life not to the fullest. Only the heroic and the audacious people challenge and overcome the terror of death. This short story talks about the beauty of life and the faith in living life. It deals with the consequence of living, with the audacity of overcoming the fear of death and moreover the enthusiasm to deal with the impediments we need to conquer, so as to write a flourishing story of our life.

Johnsy is taken ill by Pneumonia one November and she thinks that she is going to depart this life. She connects her demise with the falling of leaves of the ivy tree that is outside her window. She thinks that the instant the last leaf falls; she is going to breathe her last. But when Behrman paints a leaf on the tree after the last leaf falls, she gathers back her optimism to live and gets well.

It is the keenness to live life which can make us get over many hurdles in life. Death is a noteworthy feature of one’s life, but when death saturates our mind and soul, we die much before death in fact occurs. O. Henry seems to be suggesting here that one should not fear death and that is the only way the presence of death in our life can be obliterated and life can be made an interesting journey.

A quick look on the ‘irony’ in the story. The irony ;ies in the way events unfold contrary to expectations, particularly in Behrman’s sacrifice and Johnsy’s recovery.

Situational Irony: Johnsy, a young and hopeful girl, loses the will to live, believing that she will die when the last leaf falls. However, the old and seemingly unimportant artist, Behrman, who has never painted a masterpiece, sacrifices his life to paint a leaf on the wall to save Johnsy. The painted leaf does not fall, giving Johnsy hope and strength to recover, but Behrman, who had been healthy, catches pneumonia while painting in the cold and dies.

Dramatic Irony: The reader realizes before Johnsy does that the last leaf she believes to be real is actually a painting. This leaf, which was meant to symbolize death, ironically becomes a symbol of hope and survival.

The story beautifully highlights how Behrman unknowingly creates his greatest masterpiece—not just as a painting, but as an act of selfless love and sacrifice.

[Magdalen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four characters and a few pages that's all it took for O. Henry to write this heart warming, touching, bittersweet short story.
The themes of love, death, sacrifice are found in this short gem. I guess the last leaf symbolizes the last hope of life that people hold on to. It's a beautifully and simply written story.

[Arsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only thing that I can think about right now is the ending...I knew it was coming but it was still very saddening...but overall...it was pretty amazing. O. Henry's stories have some bitter but true life lessons in a most intricate way.

[Khush · Rating 4 out of 5]

'The Last Leaf' is an excellent story. First, I read it in school. Now after years I read it again and found out what I missed in my first reading, and how my teachers were implicated in telling us only the 'safer' aspects of the story. They told us about friendship, concern, help and so forth, but they did not even slightly mention any other dimension, for instance, of same-sex love. I would have done the same if I were in their shoes.

With adult hindsight, I see how this short story is about same-sex love. To state it more clearly, this story can fit into an anthology of modern-day LGBTQ writings. It is a story of two young women artists, Johnsy and Sue, who live together. One of them gets sick, and the other brings her back to health by her devotion and care.

In the story, these two women are almost depicted like a homosexual couple. They live together and they deeply care for each other. In the story, we are told that they meet in a restaurant and learn that they have many things in common. They move in a shared flat. But I assume that there is more to this 'move' that O' Henry did not 'dare to speak its name' hundred years ago, he did not spell it out for us, however, he suggested its depth and its existence in very clear terms.

At one point in the story, the doctor tells Sue that he cannot save those patients who lose will to live. He goes on to ask her Johnsy's condition has anything to do with a 'man.' This how they speak in the story;

“She has a very small chance,” he said. “She has a chance, if she wants to live. If people don’t want to live, I can’t do much for them. Your little lady has decided that she is not going to get well. Is there something that is troubling her?”
“She always wanted to go to Italy and paint a picture of the Bay of Naples,” said Sue.
“Paint! Not paint. Is there anything worth being troubled about? A man?”
“A man?” said Sue. “Is a man worth—No, doctor. There is not a man.”

This is interesting how sharply Sue brushes aside this conjecture as if she is offended in some deep way. 'Is a man worth' also shows a very firm feminist streak in her, which only means that 'men' do not figure in their lives in the way doctor seems to have imagined. Later in the story, she helps and takes care of Johnsy in every possible manner. She acts like a seasoned lover. She chides Johnsy for imagining weird things about her sickness. For instance, Sue speaks to her with the poignancy of a sad lover. These words indicate their deep same-sex love. “Dear, dear Johnsy!” said Sue. “Think of me, if you won’t think of yourself. What would I do?”

There are also two other things in the story that make us see the connections between very visible contemporary gay life to the lives that were lived a century ago. It is interesting to see how Mr. Pneumonia enters the Greenwich village to infect its residents. Most of these residents are unusual in many ways, they are struggling artists, failed artists, people who want to do extraordinary things, and come from different parts of the country to inhabit this particular place, and be in the company of those who share their passion, their ways of being in the world. The story in these ways shows both the dangers and rewards that life poses to queer people without naming names.

[Kushagri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first came across The Last Leaf in 7th (maybe 6th) grade during one of our school library periods. We had two library periods every week where we were supposed to sit in silence and read anything—books, magazines, newspapers. I remember I had a bit of excitement about finally being in the “senior section” library of the school instead of the “junior section,” which was only for up to 5th grade and was a much smaller library.

That day I was honestly bored and just lazily browsing the shelf with old dusty brown leather-covered books wrapped in cellophane. I picked one just because I liked the cover, borrowed it, and brought it home due to “peer pressure,” haha.

That book turned out to be a collection of O. Henry short stories, and in a way it became quite pivotal in building my lifelong habit of reading. When I told my mom, she asked me to start with The Last Leaf and The Gift of the Magi. I did, and I remember getting so absorbed that I ignored dinner and my homework and just kept reading until I finished it in a day—I cried while reading it.

The Last Leaf especially moved me with how simple yet powerful it was—the idea of hope, sacrifice, and quiet strength shown through such a small story. It hit harder than I expected and made me realize how deeply short stories can make you feel something in such a short span of time.

After that, no library period was ever the same again—I stopped reaching for just Secret Seven or Famous Five, though those were in themselves pivotal in making me reach out for books in the first place, and started slowly diving into classic literature instead.

[trestitia ⵊⵊⵊ deamorski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bu kitabın doğru edisyon altında olduğunu düşünmemekle birlikte (ben eklemedim, varmış), bendekinin 54 basım olup 14 hikaye olduğunu belirteyim.

İlk defa O. Henry okuyorum ve şu fenomen 'fakir iki sevgilinin birbirlerine hediye almak için, habersiz, biri saçını satıp saat zinciri, öteki saatini sararak fil dişi tarak aldığı o acıklı hikaye'nin aslı bu amcaymış meğersem.

Sohbet havasında, kıssadan hisse havasında, didaktik ve sürprizli sonlarla, sade bir dille yazılmış hikayeler. Hani bu artık internet köşelerinde görebildiğimiz, bir zamanlar forumların vazgeçilmezi hikayeler gibi.
Bu arada yazar Amerikalı. Kent ve kentli manzarasını basitçe aktarıvermiş.

Son Yaprak, Define, Kan Davası, Bir Harlem Faciası adlı öykülere gerçekten bayıldım. Diğerleri de çok güzeldi ama bunlardan ayrı bir tat aldım ben. Özellikle Kan Davası diğerlerinden bence farklıydı.

Ben de bir de MEB'den 94'de çıkma bir kitabı daha var seçilmiş öyküleri olarak, 3 öykü ortak sadece. Yarın gidip edisyonu bulamazsam ekleyip başlarım belki.

Bir veda cümlesi bulamadım.
Esenlikle
iko

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

O. Henry, the master storyteller. I read this twice this year and will probably read it again in the future. One of the best books I have on my shelf is Collected Stories of O. Henry: Revised and Expanded. I wouldn't want to be stranded on a deserted island without it. A must have book.

[Divya Darshani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a heartwarming story!! It is written in such a simple way, yet it is so impactful. Through this story, the author aims to highlight how important it is for a person to have will power and hope. It proves the proverb Where there's a will there's a way.The ending of the story is slightly bittersweet but give it a try; it's just a short read which will redefine your idea of love and life.❤️

The most heart touching lines:

"The lonesomest thing in all the world is a soul when it is making ready to go on its mysterious, far journey. The fancy seemed to possess her more strongly as one by one the ties that bound her to friendship and to earth were loosed."

[Aditi · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Young artists must pave their way to art by drawing pictures for magazine stories that young authors write to pave their way to literature."
But to create a masterpiece, you just need to put your heart and soul in your work because you never know whose life your art can save. This short story is a testament, that to write a masterpiece, you just need a pen, few pages and a heart!

[Yas · Rating 4 out of 5]

وای یعنی آخرش😳😂✨️

[Sepideh Tafazzoli · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my opinion, the message lying behind last leaf’s short story, message that comes through most powerfully is that you should not judge people by their outward appearances or social persona. The story describes the artist that lives beneath, Behrman, as an old drunk who had never found success and hated weakness though he goes out in the middle of a storm to paint a leaf for Johnsy. This self-sacrifice is an interesting point why would he do such a thing earlier in the story he laughed at the idea of counting the leaves. The story does foreshadow him painting the leaf in that he is always talking about the masterpiece he is going to paint and how he is a protector of the two young women that live above him. Now the inference that can be taken from his actions is that he had touched no one with his art, he had no true masterpieces. By painting the last leaf he insured that Johnsy would be affected by his art, even only to get her through her illness. He paints a leaf in the pouring rain just for her and so she would pull through. She realized her foolishness when the leaf had staid and made a complete turnaround. The work done by Behrman saved her life.

[Wesal · Rating 4 out of 5]

قصة قصيرة جداً تحمل رسالة عظيمة جداً
تكررت على مسامعي بعدة صور مختلفة وانتشرت في وسائل التواصل بتحديثات متعددة ولكني لم أعلم بأنها قصة لكاتب كبير فاق عمرها القرن
هي واحدة من تلك القصص القصيرة التي تترك أثراً في نفسك ربما أكثر من الأثر الذي تتركه بعد الكتب ذات المئات من الصفحات
رسالة رائعة في دور مرافق المريض أو أهل أي مريض كان..رسالة تلخص دور من ابتلاهم الله بمرض أحد أحبتهم ..وكيفية التضحية والحفاظ على الأمل ورباطة الجأش والكثير الكثير من الحب لتخطي المرحلة المرضية الصعبة
رسالة لكل مريض عن أعجوبة الجسم البشري في التعافي ومعالجة نفسه بتواجد الأمل و الثقة
رسالة لكل طبيب ليرى الهدف الأسمى الإنساني في مهنته والتخلي عن التعامل مع مهنته كتجارة ومصدر رزق فقط والمرضى كحالات متشابهة لا فرق بينها
رسالة لجميع البشر لتقدير الفن وأثره في حياتنا وفي نفسياتنا وتعزيز رسالته المتجددة عبر العصور كرمز للطمأنينة والحب والسلام

الجدير بالذكر أنه أنتجت العديد من الأفلام و التسجيلات الصوتية لهذه القصة الجميلة

[ناصر سليم · Rating 5 out of 5]

با خوندن چند سطر و رسیدن به اون جایی که دخترک مریض برگ ‌های پیچک و میشماره، به ناگاه یاد دوران دبستانم افتادم یا شاید دوره راهنمایی! من کارتون این داستان و دیده بودم ولی خود داستان و تا به امروز نخونده بودم ...
واقعا که داستان کوتاه عالی بود با یک پایان عالی‌تر...
فکر کنم اولین پنج ستاره‌ایی باشه که تا الان به کتاب‌های خونده شده‌ام دادم.

[Mahsa fanaei · Rating 5 out of 5]

این داستان کوتاه رو بارها به شکل ها و زبان های مختلف خوندم و شنیدم و چی می تونم بگم جز اینکع عالی بود؟!
شاهکار برمان و فداکاریش
بله، آدمیزاد برای زندگی کردن و ادامه دادن به امید احتیاج داره؛ حتی یه امید الکی و مصنوعی

[K. Anna Kraft · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've arranged my thoughts into a haiku:

"A lone slender vine.
A false, manufactured thing.
And a masterpiece."

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my!!! I remember when I was 12 years old, a few months before my dad died. My mom was visiting relatives out of town, so it was just him and me. He read me two bedtime stories that night. One was O. Henry's, "The Gift of the Magi". That story has been treasured in my heart ever since.

I just read this short story by O. Henry, and without giving anything away... my heart just melted. This story is classic and reminded me of that precious night that my dad was still teaching me life lessons.

[Shrilaxmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this story. The ending was totally unexpected. I like the way O' Henry personifies pneumonia and describes his characters. The writing is so simple but it teaches you a lot about love and sacrifice. The way humour and tragedy is mixed is exceptional. This story will stay with me forever.

[Yassmeen Altaif · Rating 4 out of 5]

يكفي أن أقول إنها قصة إنسانية.

كيف يعتمد المريض على نفسية وشجاعة من حوله وتقويته لتقبل مرضه والشفاء.

قصة بسيطة حتى بالإمكان أن تحكى للصغار قبل النوم.
أو حتى استغلالها في دورات التنمية الذاتية وغيرها.

ولماذا لا تضع في غرف استراحة المستشفيات، لعلها ترشد أحدا ما.

[i.Shayan · Rating 4 out of 5]

چه شاهکار هنری بزرگ تر از جون کسی رو نجات دادن
همون کاری که جراح ها در سرتاسر دنیا هرروز انحام میدن

[Niradhip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful story, demonstrates the power of hope and belief. The supremacy of faith in life, changes the course of existence altogether. The metaphor of masterpiece is magnificently described. Masterpiece is not something which can be described as a materialistic entity; rather it’s a self-explanatory deed which doesn’t really require any introduction or admiration. Masterpiece would be created automatically when we realize the real purpose of life. I would like to give 3.5 to ‘The Last Leaf’.

[Brian Yahn · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Last Leaf is one of those short stories where at the end you grin and say, "I see what you did there." Unfortunately, where most of O Henry's works are voice-y and entertaining, this one seems like it's ripped out of a Hemingway collection.