欧亨利最后一片叶子

The last Leaf

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Abstract

, one of the three most famous short-story writers in the world,

enjoys equal status with Chekhov and Maupassant. His short stories are

famous for its unexpected ending, as well as their exquisite plots. The

figures written by him are full of delight of life so Henry is praised as the

“Humorous encyclopedia of American life”.

The paper is to analyze the people in

The Last Leaf

and tries to explore

the theme of the novel in order to grasp the meaning of the novel

exactly, so that the readers can understand the aims of the author and

enjoy the charm of the stories.

Keywords: ; the last leaf; Behrman

1. Introduction of the Author

O. Henry, originally named William Sydney Porter, is a distinguished

American storywriter. He wrote more than 300 short stories in his life. His

stories are full of colorful characters most of whom are derived from his

inclination to wander streets and parks, and to talk to people of every

kind and condition. And all of his stories are ingeniously conceived, with

the endings always contrary to readers' expectations. Though his stories'

endings are always surprising, yet it is not beyond reason, for both ways

conform well to the logic of life. He creates an original, typically

American democratic form of short stories, at its best, a valuable critical

awareness of life and society tellingly expressed through humor.

Therefore, some critics call him "the founder of American stories". Being

gifted with humor and a keen awareness of details, he objectively shows

us what America looks like. As his experience shows, the majority people

he met in his daily life are those lower class in society ---- clerks,

policemen, and waitresses. All his stories putting together constitute a

true panorama of American life, or as someone said, "The encyclopedia

of American life".

O. Henry's trademark is the surprising ending that each of his stories

contains. He sets a story moving in one direction, and just when the

reader is convinced of the general direction of the narrative, the story will

be completely reversed. And if we look back to the total story, the ending

seems logical and plausible. As a “plot-maker”, and designer of

incident, he is an amazing genius. No one can do better than him to

holds the reader in “suspense”. More than that, the reader scarcely

knows that he is suspended until the very close of the story. Just as

“turns on the lights and the whole tale is revealed in its entirety”. He

uses this device of dramatic and humorous effect in the short story

collection

The Four Million which including

The Ransom of Red Chief,

The Gift of the Magi, and

The Cop and the Anthem,

The Service of Love,

The last Leaf. At the same time he uses irony and satire to disclose the

essence of American society: the weak are the prey of the strong, which is

regarded as the law of the jungle universally. In addition, right and wrong

are confused, good and evil are disordered.

2. Brief Account of the Novel

2.1 Main content of

The Last Leaf

O Henry’s best-loved story

The Last Leaf is a significant embodiment

of the author’s super skill of using “blank” techniques to make

surprising but logical ending, which was called “tearful smile”.

It is a story of some ordinary people. In “colony” Washington where

some poor artists lived, pneumonia was epidemic. The young artist,

Johnsy, “a mite of a little woman with blood thinned by Californian

zephyrs” was smote by epidemic. “She lay, scarcely moving”, looking

at the blank side of the next brick house, and counting the leaves on the

ivy vine outside the window which were stricken by the cold breath of

autumn. She thought herself just like a weary leaf and said “when the

last leaf falls, I must go, too” . Life was tough, and Johnsy was

pessimistic, indulging in the abyss of despair, even her most significant

dream of painting the Bay of Naples some day couldn’t arouse her

desire for survival. The doctor, consequently, thought she had one

chance in ten to get well, “and that chance is for her to want to live”.

Johnsy’s bosom friend—Sue, getting to know her friend’s weakness,

“cried a Japanese napkin to a pulp”. But to conceal her sadness, “she

swaggered into Johnsy’s room with her drawing-board, whistling

ragtime”. Thinking Johnsy was asleep, “Sue stopped whistling”. When

she found that Johnsy wanted to die, she had to make a white lie that

Johnsy’s chances for getting well were “ten to one”. However, Johnsy

was untouched to Sue’s painstaking efforts. She had made up her mind

to go away with the last leaf of the ivy vine.

Old Behrman, an old artist, who lived on the ground floor beneath

them, knew what Johnsy thought. “With his red eyes plainly

streaming”, he shouted his contempt and derision for Johnsy’s

“idiotic imaginings”. He, though was “a failure in art”, had been

always about to paint a masterpiece, and promised to help Johnsy move

out of such a terrible place.

“A persistent, cold rain was falling, mingled with snow” . The leaves

on the ivy vine went more and more. Would the last leaf fall? What would

happen to the poor mite? O. Henry continued the story.

“But, lo! After the beating rain and fierce gusts of wind that had

endured through the livelong night, there stood out against the brick

wall one ivy leaf. It was the last on the vine”.

It was really an unbelievable miracle! But Johnsy believed that it would

fall, and she would die at the same time. When reading the story here,

readers will have the same thought like Johnsy’s. But “the day wore

away, and even through the twilight they could see the lone ivy leaf

clinging to its stem against the wall”.

The whole night passed with wind and rain. Can’t the last leaf fall?

Readers hold a firm belief that in the next morning the leaf must fall, and

the girl must die. However, when it was light enough, when the shade

was raised, Johnsy found “the ivy leaf was still there”.

Johnsy was touched by the last leaf; she became convinced that “it is

a sin to want to die”. ( 2004:59) The doctor came and said

Johnsy had “even chances” to recover. However, he continued: “now I

must see another case I have downstairs. Behrman…Pneumonia, too. He

is an old, weak man, and the attack is acute. There is no hope for him…”

Henry didn’t describe how old Behrman drew the last leaf on the wall

on such a dreadful night, he use the “blank” technique to leads the

end directly, but readers can imagine it through the limited description

of the last leaf.

2.2. Major theme of

The Last Leaf

The Last Leaf, moving along around the core—the last leaf—the

masterpiece, sings the praise of the sincere friendship and the noble

spirit---selfless sacrifice of ordinary people. The story about the three

artists is not an occasional incident, but the life of the improvised,

unpublished, would-be great artists. They are at the lower class of the

society and strive for success, strive to accomplish a great masterpiece.

They give support to each other, even without hesitation to sacrifice their

own life. Their life will not be less splendid than that of the upper class

because of poverty. On the contrary, they are great because of their

fraternal love and the priceless friendship as the evergreen ivy leaf, which

constitute their noble spirit.

Although the poor show unselfishness and sacrifice to each other, they

are too weak to avoid various tragedies happening from time to time in

these rooms. We smile for Johnsy’s rebirth, cry for Behrman’s death

but moved by his death at the same time. We are pleased for Johnsy’s

rebirth with the sadness of losing Behrman. We smile with tears.

e Analysis

When a dying lady was looking out the ivy vine1 through the window,

whose leaves were falling , she desperately thought “if the last falls, I

must go”2. The old painter sacrificed his life to paint a green ivy leaf

onto the brick wall ,when the real last fell .One died and one lived. No

one could deny that piece of ivy leaf saved everything about love，nobility and greatness. The old man was just Behrman in ’s

novel

The Last Leaf.

In ’s eyes, Behrman was a failure in art3, but we might say he

was a success in humanity. Actually he ever set his mind to accomplish a

surprising masterpiece and even prepared to be proud of it; Well , his

masterpiece did not appear until the death approached .Otherwise, he

lived by being a model for some poor painters like him and drunk all day

along. That’s the first impression which Behrman gave us at the middle

part of the novel.

As a matter of fact, Behrman represented a small shadow of American

West people that seek fortune in 19th century . was also born in a

doctor family, which made him informed of the difficulties the poor had

met. And we could discover many familiar roles in his novels, like Soapy

in The cop and the Anthem

, John Adair in A Municipal Report

Jim and

Della in

The Gift of the Magi. As a

loyal reader to ,I guess these

characters appearing in his novels might be someone he knew or heard,

might be his friends or himself.

At least these roles reflected ’s

real voice into his mind. For some reasons, had been in prison

for 3 years during which he made his famous novel

The cop and the

Anthem. To some extent , Soapy’s painfulness was ’s .When

he offered to get in the jail, it was refused; When he washed his brain and

decide to live a common life he wanted, he was caught with no reason.

This ridiculous result conveyed a great joke of American society.

Now back to the old painter Behrman, did not tell how he

helped Johnsy, how he painted his masterpiece and why he chose to do

it and readers knew it from the conversation between Sue and Johnsy as

follows:

"I have something to tell you, white mouse," Sue said. "Mr. Behrman

died of pneumonia to-day in the hospital. He was ill only two days. The

janitor found him the morning of the first day in his room downstairs

helpless with pain. His shoes and clothing were wet through and icy cold.

They couldn't imagine where he had been on such a dreadful night. look

out the window, dear, at the last ivy leaf on the wall. Didn't you wonder

why it never fluttered or moved when the wind blew? Ah, darling, it's

Behrman's masterpiece - he painted it there the night that the last leaf

fell."4

Behrman died at the end of the novel. Such a kind of way declaring

Behrman’s death may mot surprise us, because we all know, his

pneumonia was much worse than Johnsy and death will come sooner or

later. Anyways, Behrman saved Johnsy in a silent and artistic way, which

truly shocked me .That’s also why I like this character Behrman and this

novel, even though did not give him too many s,

this writing style might make this character greater and stand out in the

other side, I think.

That last leaf never means the last life. Behrman was like a doctor more

than a painter. It cured Johnsy’s pneumonia and gave her a strong

courage and great hope to hold on. What a great value his masterpiece

had made! Meanwhile, Behrman seemed more alive than dead. We could

say, Behrman did not only save a person’s life, but successfully saved an

American dream for all the people who seek freedom and peace.

Behrman died in the right way; He also taught us a lesson named

“what’s humanity and where it lies”. That’s what his masterpiece

brought us here and now.

As is mentioned, Johnsy’s dream was to paint the Bay of Naples

before she passed away. I could not imagine whether it had been realized

or not. However,I was sure of Behrman’s--------the last leaf and the

lasting life.

sion

As one of the three greatest short-story masters in the world, O. Henry

enjoys equal literary status with Chekhov in Russia and Maupassant in

France. He has profoundly influenced the course of American short story.

“He still emerges, by his huge achievements and the immense

popularity of his particular method, as an astonishingly persistent

influence on the short story of almost every decade since his day”.

Focusing on incidents of everyday life and characters of various kinds, O.

Henry provides the readers a vivid picture of his time. Critics have paid

enough attention to his story theme of humanity, story structure filled

with such O. Henry’s technique as vivid plots, frequent coincidences,

surprising ending and his humorous language.

Reference:

n.藤；葡萄树；藤类植物

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4王旭红编译 2005 大连理工大学出版社 《美国短篇小说精选》