The Last Leaf, O. Henry, Raymond Harris (Editor), Walter Pauk (Editor), Robert J. Pailthorpe (Illustrator)The Last Leaf is a short story by O. Henry published in 1907 in his collection The Trimmed Lamp and Other Stories. The story is set in Greenwich Village during a pneumonia epidemic. It tells the story of an old artist who saves the life of a young artist, dying of pneumonia, by giving her the will to live. She can see an ivy plant through the window gradually losing its leaves, and has take...

"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 th

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 l...

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.

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.

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.

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 i...

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.

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.

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 meHelp the needy and show them the way.Human kindness is overflowing,And I think it’s gonna rain today.....”Everyone should read this story !!

"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 t

I've arranged my thoughts into a haiku:"A lone slender vine.A false, manufactured thing.And a masterpiece."

A very Unique story with a shocking ,unprecedented twist that changes the whole dimension of the story . Until the culmination of the story , it was hanging around an eerie fancy debating in mind whether the last leaf that apparently dictates johnsy's life (an abstarct mind-woven concept by an ill-stricken mind) would fall-off or not . The Shocking twist when unveiled adds lot of substance and showcases the ingeniousness of Henry.4 stars on 5 !-gautam

'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 sa...

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

5 stars for the nostalgia. Or maybe I'm just a sucker for hard-hitting short stories.I read this for an assignment a few years ago, but it somehow has snuck its way back into my head in the most minuscule moments. It seems as if every time I notice a tree short of a few leaves, my mind wanders back to this story. The Last Leaf is one that floods your thoughts far longer than the time it takes to read it, and is not as simple as it seems. If you have a few minutes to spare, give this bittersweet

"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!

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’.

O'Henry has never failed to evoke my emotions...never!!!! Stories are short but heart quenching....depth is not bound to pages, it can be achieved in few lines as well.The Gift of Magi was my first book of O'Henry's. I was in school when i read it and till today the story lingers in my memory.That is the power of his writing! I have since read many of his works and they have left their impression on me as well. The ironical twists narrated by each story is commendable.