The characters of the story

     O. Henry is not just a talented writer, he is a wonderful artist, capable to catch all the tiny movements of the human's soul. He wrote about the heroic deeds of ordinary people. The characters in the story are revealed in development of the plot.

      Sue - a girl of a strong nature. The girl who never loses the presence of mind, earns for living by painting, caring for her sick friend and encourages her, inspiring confidence with words and deeds. "You are just like a woman!" - an exhaustive description of Berman.

      The writer reveals Sue by means of  character's action, for example ("Sue went into the workroom and cried";"but then immediately cheers up and goes into Johnsy's room";"whistling ragtime";"Sue came to the bed where Johnsy lay, contentedly knitting a very blue and very useless woollen shoulder scarf, and put one arm around her, pillows and all"; "Wearily Sue obeyed.")

     Each time the author shows how Sue supports her friend and worries about her halth,and expresses it by Sue's speech,for instance ("Don't be a goosey. Why, the doctor told me this morning that your chances for getting well real soon were - let's see exactly what he said - he said the chances were ten to one!Why, that's almost as good a chance as we have in New York when we ride on the street cars or walk past a new building. Try to take some broth now, and let Sudie go back to her drawing, so she can sell the editor man with it, and buy port wine for her sick child, and pork chops for her greedy self."; "I'd rather be here by you..."; "I don't want you to keep looking at those silly ivy leaves."). 

     She is a caring person, waiting on Johnsy and hoping for her recovery, it becomes obviously because of the direct characterisation.

 

   Johnsy - rather weak, light, fragile, impressionable, a fantasy-prone sweet girl. And again the word to Berman: "Ach, dot poor leetle Miss Johnsy!"; "Gott! dis is not any blace in which one so goot as Miss Yohnsy shall lie sick." And indeed his last act gives grounds to assume that everyone loved Johnsy.

    The writer reveals Johnsy by means of  physical appearence, for example ("a little woman"; "white and still as fallen statue"; "light and fragile as a leaf"; "dull, wide-open eyes").

    She essentially gives up, which does not seem to make her much of a fighter. The author shows it by Johnsy's speech, for example ("When the last one falls I must go, too. I've known that for three days."; "There goes another. No, I don't want any broth. That leaves just four. I want to see the last one fall before it gets dark. Then I'll go, too."; "because I want to see the last one fall."). With the help of direct characterisation the author describes Johnsy accessibly.

   Behrman - the embodiment of contradictions. On the one hand  caricature-repelling appearance,on the other hand an admired deed.

      The writer reveals Berman by means of  physical appearence, for example ("He was past sixty and had a Michael Angelo's Moses beard curling down from the head of a satyr along with the body of an imp,"; "...he was a fierce little old man with his red eyes").

     He makes very little money as an artist. He is always about to do something, but never quite gets it done. O.Henry presents it by character's actions,for example ("Behrman was a failure in art.";"... scoffed terribly at softness in any one..."; "He had been always about to paint a masterpiece, but had never yet begun it."; "For several years he had painted nothing except now and then a daub in the line of commerce or advertising. He earned a little by serving as a model to those young artists in the colony who could not pay the price of a professional."; "He drank gin to excess, and still talked of his coming masterpiece.").

     The author shows Behrman's behaviour by his speech,for instance ("No, I will not bose as a model for your fool hermit-dunderhead." and "'Who said I will not bose? For half an hour I haf peen trying to say dot I am ready to bose!"; "Gott! dis is not any 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"). Also, O. Henry makes some emphasis on Behrman's  ignorance and his relation to the lower class. It is vividly showed by usage of  conversastional (low-flown) words. 

    In the beginning, the author gives us a direct characterisation of Mr. Behrman that doesn’t care about anyone else other than himself,but in the end he shows his true personality by painting the last leaf on the tree and he sacrifices his life for a young girl, that we understand from indirect characterisation of the character.

     A doctor - very kind and busy person.O. Henry reveals a doctor by means of  physical appearence, for example ("...a shaggy, gray eyebrow... ").

      We can easily understand that a doctor is rather a  kind person because of his desire to help the patient. And the author displays it by character's speech, for examle ("I will do all that science, so far as it may filter through my efforts, can accomplish.")

       Also, he always has a lot of patients, such lines improves this fact ("One morning the busy doctor invited Sue into the hallway...").

The Plot

  The composition of the story contributes empathy and complicity of readers. In the introduction we get acquainted with the description of district in which painters come to set up their art studio and it has curious maze streets criss-crossing one another. This description of the streets has relevance to the story in which a strong and strange psychological morbidity is focused.  Also it acquaints us with friends and artists Sue and Jones and their neighbor - the feisty old man. Calm beginning gradually acquires a disturbing narrative tone.

   The main part of the story presented in a sad way. The girl’s disease, despair of her friend, joyless of Berman’s life, everything was like an old creaky steps in their home.

   
    The climax of the story, as it always happens, manifested in the end of the story: the last leaf is a drawing, the last Berman’s  picture .  A nondescript leaf that helped Jones to recover, became the main masterpiece of the old painter.

  
   The presence intrigue, internal conflict of heroes, overcoming of their external obstacles, the emotional tone of the narrative, an unexpected outcome arouse a great interest and desire to re-read it and to study a language of the story.

  

The Setting

   From the very beginning of  the story the author introduces us with the location where this story happens.

   The story takes place in Greenwich Village, which is a district of New York City. In modern New York it looks like this:

   Mostly, people who is interested in art come there. They like the bohemian life of the village, and they enjoy living among so many artists. The buildings and apartments are very old and dirty, as we understand, but it only adds the interest to the place. The description of the home is not presented in details, but from the fleeting remarks we can conclude the poverty of rooms, but not the poverty of  its inhabitants’ spirit.

“…the maze of the narrow and moss-grown places.”

“…a bare, dreary yard…”

  Two young women, our main characters, named Sue and Johnsy shared a studio apartment at the top of a three-story building.

   The weather is cold, windy and it creates rather a pessimistic mood. The nature submitted only in a few sentences, it is very harmonic with the internal contents of the characters.

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

“The cold breath of autumn had stricken its leaves from the vine until its skeleton branches clung, almost bare…”

    The whole description of places where the story comes about draw in our imagination not a very bright and happy picture. In this way O. Henry shows us the all sadness of the story.

   My expectations

 It was not the first time when I read this story, and when I reread it a rush of wringing chill ran through my body. Perhaps this brief story - the best that O. Henry has. He is undoubtedly a master of  vital short stories. Really, brevity is the soul of wit. Isn’t it? It’s extremely remarkable story so lively and touching. There is so much vital energy, mutual respect and deep faith. Many writers wasted tons of  paper trying to convey to us some thoughts and ideas. But O. Henry in a few pages revealed to us a life story and made ​​it so easy and memorable.