The Last Leaf a poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes analysis?

Answer 1

"The Last Leaf" is a poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes. The narrator speaks about a man who used to be the best man in town, but now he has grown old, his looks have deteriorated, his manner of dress has changed and he hobbles around with a cane. He just wanders the streets all alone. His friends and family are gone now and he seems to mourn them all. Young people laugh at the looks of the old man. In the end, the narrator makes a comparison between himself when he is old and the last leaf on a tree clinging to a silly branch.

Answer 2

GenreShort Story (5 pp.)KeywordsCaregivers, Death and Dying, Empathy, Love, Ordinary Life, Pain, PneumoniaSummary

Living in early 20th century Greenwich Village are two young women artists, Sue and Johnsy (familiar for Joanna). They met in May, six months previously, and decided to share a studio apartment. Stalking their artist colony in November is "Mr. Pneumonia." The story begins as Johnsy, near death from pneumonia, lies in bed waiting for the last leaf of an ivy vine on the brick wall she spies through her window to fall.

"I'm tired of thinking," says Johnsy. "I want to turn loose my hold on everything, and go sailing down, down, just like one of those poor, tired leaves"(16). However, an unexpected hero arrives to save Johnsy. It's not the brusque Doctor Who gives her only one in ten chances to survive, raising them to one in five if Sue can get her to hope for something important like a man, not her true desire to "paint the Bay of Naples some day" (14).

Mr. Behrman, an old man who lives in the apartment below Sue and Johnsy, who enjoys drinking, works sometimes as an artist's model, and as yet has made no progress over the past 40 years on painting his own masterpiece, becomes in typical O. Henry fashion the hero. The evidence of his heroics are found the day before he dies from pneumonia: outside Johnsy's window are a ladder, a lantern still lighted "some scattered brushes, and a palette with green and yellow colors mixed on it . . . it's Behrman's masterpiece--he painted it [a leaf] there the night that the last leaf fell"(19), Sue informs Johnsy.Commentary

There are two interesting things I found in this story in addition to the general theme of death and dying. First, there is the ambiguity surrounding the relationship of the two women. I believe that they may have been lovers, but it was something that the author only felt comfortable hinting at.

Second, I've been fascinated for years about the number of persons, especially among the "house cases" I've seen on rounds, who have been cared for by neighbors. In this story, the neighbor, Mr. Behrman, makes the ultimate sacrifice through his neighborly caregiving. I'm convinced that there are many persons whose lives are saved (or at least the quality of their lives are significantly improved) by caring acts of friends and neighbors.SourceFavorite Short StoriesPublisherWalkerEdition1967EditorsHenry GilfondPlace PublishedNew YorkAlternate SourceThe Last LeafAlternate PublisherCreative EducationAlternate Edition1980Place PublishedMankato, Minn.MiscellaneousThe author was born as William Sidney Porter and died as Will S. Parker. The story was adapted as a one-act play with additional characters by Robert Brome (Eldridge Publishing Co., Franklin, Ohio and Denver, Colorado, 1966). The Creative Education edition is part of a Creative Classic Series for readers of all ages with illustrations by Byron Glaser; it includes a short biography of the author.Annotated byKohn, MartinDate of Entry08/09/01Last Revised08/29/01

Answer 3

"The Last Leaf" is a poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes that reflects on the beauty and resilience of nature as symbolized by a lone leaf clinging to a branch in the face of winter. The poem explores themes of perseverance, mortality, and the passage of time. It highlights the idea that even in the face of adversity, there is always hope and beauty to be found.

Answer 4

A diseased mind is even more harmful than the disease itself -justify this statement

Answer 5

v this last leaf in the story symbolizes the delicate balance between life and death