Stylistic Analysis of the Text The Last Leaf Essay Example

the story the author introduces the two main characters. They get acquainted n a cafe, find out that that they are quite congenial and begin renting a joint studio.

Then we learn that Johnsy is ill with pneumonia. She is very weak; she lays in her bad, scarcely moving, and looks out of the window counting the falling leaves on the old ivy vine. The girl thinks that she will die when the last leaf falls. To emphasize the danger and complication of the illness and to intensify the feeling of gloom the author uses personification “Mr. Pneumonia, unseen stranger, stalked about, old gentleman, old duffer” ,the metaphor “icy fingers” and the inversion “but Johnsy he smote”. Johnsy is under doctor’s control.

And as he says he subtracts 50 per cent from the curative power of medicines if the patient begins to count the carriages in his funeral procession. He strongly recommends her to change up her mind and think of something that will make her feel good. The author goes on to say that Johnsy is still weak, she won’t eat anything and only keeps her eyes out of the window. Sue asks her neighbour old painter Behrman to serve as a modal for the old hermit miner and tells him about Johnsy’s fancy. Behrman regards himself as the protector of the two young artists in the studio above.

Such idiotic imaginings annoy him but still he helps the girl. One day she wakes up, orders Sue to pull down the curtain and sees that the last leaf is still hanging on the tree in spite of the strong rain and

wind. Johnsy realizes that she wasn’t right. The most convincing proof is given in the words “I. ve been a bad girl…smth has made that last leaf stay there to show me how wicked I was. ” The end of the story is permeated with sentimentality and tragedy. The final conversation of the girls is the climax of the story. Mr. Behrman dies of pneumonia in the hospital.

He is found lying on the floor helpless with pain and wet through. And in his room they find a lantern, a ladder, brushes and a palette with green and yellow colours. Behrman painted the leaf there the night that it feel and as it rained strongly that day he fell ill and died. In my opinion the main idea of the story is that hope springs eternal in the human breast and while there is life there is hope. Johnsy was seriously mistaken wanting to die of her illness. I think the author wanted to show that if a person has some difficulties he should never give way to them and stay the course.

In this story the last leaf itself serves as a symbol of hope. It is like the last chance it is very fragile and hangs by a thread. At the same time the author uses it as an antithesis and contrasts it with Johnsy. To intensify the feeling of struggle and survival a metaphor is used. “It is hanging bravely from the branch”. The leaf unlike Johnsy wants to live and to survive, it is lonely and it sticks to the ivy steam. But Johnsy thinks pessimistically. She has almost

everything to get well: an experienced doctor giving precise instructions and a good, caring friend at hand, who is ready to do everything to help her.

The author uses both direct and indirect methods of characterization. He describes his characters and at the same time he makes them act and lets the reader draw his own conclusion. He describes hem through their actions, their dialogues and attitude to each other. There are two protagonists: Sue and Johnsy and two secondary characters: old Behrman and the doctor. The reader knows that the girls are young artists and good friends. They rent a joint studio and try to pave their way to Art by drawing to illustrate magazines.

Their relationships are very warm and friendly and their deeds prove it. Sue treats Johnsy as a child; she calls her “dear, naughty girl, goosey”. She’s quite persevering and doesn’t let down under difficulties. The girl is loyal and devoted. She does her best to cure her friend, asking Behrman for help. The author uses inversion to underline tht Johnsy nees a some good care: “With good nursing you’ll win”. Johnsy is congenial to Sue. But she breaks down and looses her hope and desire to live. It can characterize her as a weak-willed person.

To soften her condition the author uses euphemism . She doesn’t say directly that she will die and expresses this in some other words “I’ll go, I must go, float away”. I think she is quite sensible realizing by the end of the story that it’s a sin to want to die. Just when she begins to get well she says

about her desire to paint the “Bay of Naples”. It shows that she is rather ambitious and strives for a better life. Mr. Behrman is an old man. He Is a painter but an unsuccessful one. He earns his living serving as a model. He drinks gin to excess and smells strongly of drink.

To give a more realistic description of his room and of his condition the author uses inversion “in one corner was a blank canvas that had been waiting there for twenty-five years for a masterpiece”. His speech is vulgar and is difficult to understand because he uses English words mingled German “ Is dere people in der world mit… Vy do you allow dot silly pusiness to come in der prain…”. He is badly-educated man but he has a heart of gold. He regards himself as the protector of the ladies and in the end he sacrifices his life. It was a very sincere, open-hearted and good-natured erson really difficult to find.

The author uses different SDs rather amply. To present the characters more realistically and to create physically palpable images the author uses such epithets as“unseen, busy, young, old, greedy, magnificent, silly”, similes “she feared she would be light and fragile as a leaf herself, who regarded himself as the protector”, synonyms “irreproachable, unimpeachable; self-assurance, firmness”. To depict Johnsy’s condition more realistically and to intensify the feeling of gloom the author uses parallel constructions “I want… I’m tired.. , I’m tired.. I want.. ” and a metaphor “the cold breath of autumn”.

The language of the text is bookish (“chivalric, zephyrs, subtract, smote”) and at the same

time we can come across some colloquial (“goosey, silly, duffer, ”) and foreign (…”in de world mit der foolishness”)words. The story is a clear expression of the author’s social views . It is permeated with sympathy for common people. The merit of the story is in its truth to reality. I find the text interesting and instructive. And most of all I appreciate the entertaining plot and the realistic description of the events and characters.