the last leaf

The Last LeafThe backgroundAs the progress of Mechanization, urbanization and modernization, America is not quite in the hope of rich and progress. Under the vitality surface of vitality, the polarization ' the money worship, and many other undercurrent flow out to move. America's gilded age was coming as the in the era of the oil industry and the age of the automobile, American also entered a flashy "gilded age". When the rich increasingly pursuit vogue and exquisite savour, the poor struggle for survival all day long. It was the beginning of what Mark Twi n called “the gilded age,”An age of excess and extremes, of decline and progress, of poverty and dazzling wealth ,of gloom and buoyant hope.In the 1870’s, the Renaissance of New England came to the end, romantic literature gradually declined, realism literature marched the center of the stage. Only in the beginning of the twentieth century, the modern socialist movement across Europe and the United States, sweeping the globe, making the realism and naturalistic became another huge molecular components. America's most noteworthy new authors established a literature of realism .They sought to portray American life as it really was, insisting that the ordinary and the local were as suitable for artistic portrayal as the magnificent and the remote.About the authorO. Henry was the pen name of the American writer William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 –June 5, 1910). He was one of the three world famous short story masters——O. Henry, maupassant, Chekhov.Formerly known as William Sidney Porter , America's most famous short story writer, has been one of the critics as the Manhattan prose writer and the United States was the father of the modern short story. O. Henry's short stories are well known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization and clever endings.O. Henry's stories are famous for their surprise endings, to the point that such an ending is often referred to as an "O. Henry ending." The plots are exceedingly clever and interesting; humor abounds, and the end is always surprising. Often there are two endings: first an unexpected ending, then another, which is quiet a different one and a still better surprise. Many of his stories contain a great deal of slang and colloquial expressions that make them hard to be understood by people outside of America. Such forms of speech are used to give what is called local color, to make stories fit in with the characters and scenes described. O. Henry’s own speech, both spoken and written, was always chaste and clear. Most of O. Henry's stories are set in his own time, the early years of the 20th century. Many stories take place in New York City and deal for the most part with ordinary people: clerks, policemen and so on.O. Henry is good at describing the American society of New York, especially the people life. Nearly every story he writes grips the attention and interest from the beggining,and all are wholesome reading. Rrobably his best individual stories are “Retrieved Reformation”,”The Gift of the Magi”,”Phoebe”,”A Municipal Report”,”An Unfinished Story”,”A Lickpenny Lover”,and “The Furnished Room.”Plot summaryJohnsy and Sue are artists who move into Greenwich Village in New York City. As winter approaches and the weather gets colder, Johnsy becomes ill with pneumonia. She gets so sick that she believes that when the last leaf falls from the vine outside her window, she will die. An old artist, named Behrman, who lives in the same building as the girls, braves a storm one night to paint a leaf on the wall — a leaf that will never fall. Cold and wet from painting in the icy rain, he catches pneumonia and dies. This gives Johnsy the hope to survive her illness, and it also creates the masterpiece Behrman had always dreamed of painting.The last piece of ivy leaves remain in ancient out of the window; Jossie also blossom a past smile, become optimistic; The great painter behrman remain forever in people’s hearts.CharactersThroughout the novel, the author reflects the theme for the hero of Bellman's description is not much, mostly using the side of the contrast. But we can still have a strong feeling of enthusiasm and self-sacrificing spirit like elder Berman. And we have enough imagination. We can imagine that the poor old man is staggering to climb the tree to paint a leaf with the yellow and green color at the stormy night. His works never display on public, but now displaying his artistic talents on the wall. Of course, the rehabilitation of Joan Susan is not only the last leaf Bellman painted, but also the strength they need to overcome the disease. Joan Alexandra is in the dying moments because of the pneumonia. And the doctor has sentenced her "death". The doctor is not sure she can be cured. But she can be cured by her yourself. Life or death is between struggle and surrender. Only their confidence and efforts can only make them win. Finally Joan Alexandra's illness really recovered.Everyone will encounter difficulties and setbacks. The key to overcome them is to look at whether you have the confidence to face them or not. Joan Alexandra has into a trough of disappointment, but she lives in the Bellman exchange with the last one, inspired by vine leaves, her perk up, until recovery. She is a brave winner to overcome the difficulties. Looking at the full text of this novel, it can be seen highly ideological without earth-shattering exciting. The words have no more rhetoric, but it is the noble idea of the novel as a whole novel, meaning the pillarof the deep. Maybe this is Henry's success in Europe.“The last leaf” is also translated to“the last of the ivy leaves”.The hero of the novel are Johnsy, Sue, Behrman. In this paper, the author focus on mining and praising the esne’s great personality and moral character, showing their yearning of the humanity and good wishes of the world. The last leaf story let us really nervous for Johnsy’s fate. We are surprised at Sue’s friendship once, and shocked for the charity of Behrman second time.The endingThe saying by O. Henry “Then a spiritual feeling arises spontaneously that life is made of sobs, sniffles, smile of composition, and sniffles account for the vast majority.”。