The Last Leaf

Summary:

In the short story, “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry, there is a stranger that comes wondering into the town of Greenwich Village. It is a woman who is very sick and seeks out help from a doctor, from whom she is told that she has pneumonia. She is a traveling woman who doesn’t have money or a place to stay. However she meets Johnsy who invites her to stay at her place. While she stays there, this stranger is trying to get well on her own because she cant afford medical help. Outside of Johnsy’s apartment there is a tree. As the weather got progressively colder, all the leaves fell off except for one. Neither of the women could figure out why, although Johnsy claimed it was to remind her of something bad that she has done in the past. At the end of the story, the doctor dies on the day that the last leaf falls.

Commentary:

I liked this story. I think it was well written and had a clear delivery of the plot. I like how the reader doesn’t really know the stranger’s name. I also thought it was interesting how the two women had such different personalities, but were able to live together without any problems for a long time. However, I felt the ending to be a little cliché. “He painted it there the night that the last leaf fell." The doctor dies on the same day that the last leaf falls, I thought that was a very expected ending. Especially after such a strong story, I think the ending was weak.