Complete Stylistic Analysis
1. The story under
analysis is written by the American short-story writer William Sydney
Porter, who wrote under the pseudonym O. Henry.
He is a writer of the the middle of XIX and the beginning of XX
centuries. William Sidney Porter was born 11 September, 1862 in Greensboro,
North Carolina. O. Henry wrote with realistic detail based on his first hand
experiences both in Texas and in New York City.
His short stories are known for wit, wordplay and clever twist endings.
Also O. Henry wrote in a dry, humorous style and used coincidences and surprise
endings to underline ironies. He wrote nearly 600 stories about life in
America. The most famous his stories are “The Ransom of Red Chief" (1910),
"The Duplicity of Hargraves" (1902), and "The Gift of the
Magi" (1905), “The Last Leaf” and others. He gained worldwide acclaim as
America's favorite short story writer. He became a bestselling author of
collections of short stories. "Cabbages and Kings" came first, in
1904; followed by "The Four Million"; "The Trimmed Lamp"
and "Heart of the West" in 1907; "The Voice of the City" in
1908; Roads of Destiny" and "Options" in 1909, "Strictly
Business" and "Whirligigs" in 1910. Posthumously published
collections include "The Gentle Grafter" about the swindler, Jeff
Peters; "Rolling Stones" and "Waifs and Strays"; and in
1936, unsigned stories.
2. The title of the short story under
consideration is “The Last Leaf”. I consider that the title
of the story can be analyzed from two sides. On the one hand it is
thought-provoking, because it provokes thoughts about future development of
events. When we read the title we assume that the events will take place in autumn,
maybe in November, because the last leafs, as usual, fall in this month. On the
other hand, the title is symbolic, because it symbolizes the last chance and
hope that empowers Johnsy to fight for her life. The “leaf” is a symbol of
life. The girl believes that the last leaf will give her the slightest chance
to live. She puts her life in charge of this leaf.
3. This short story
is devoted to the description of the
events when one of the main characters,
Johnsy, suffering from pneumonia. She watches the leaves falling from an ivy vine
outside the window of her room, and decides that when the last leaf drops, she
too will die. At that moment Sue, her friend, tries to tell her to stop
thinking in such pessimistic way and have a desire to live. Then an unexpected
event happens. One of the characters arrives to save poor girl. It’s not the
brusque doctor who gives her only one in ten chances to survive, raising them
to one in five if Sue can get her to hope for something important. It is Mr.
Behrman, who lives in the apartment below Sue and Johnsy. He becomes a real
hero.
4. There are several important themes in this story. The first one is
self-sacrifice and charity. This theme is very essential, because when Mr.
Behrman paints the last ivy leaf on the wall he gives Johnsy hope, even it
takes his life. He wants her to believe in herself and to root out the negative
thoughts from her mind. From this we can point out another essential theme. It
is sounds as follows: don’t judge people by appearance and social status. In
the story the gruffest character is Mr. Behrman. He “was a fierce little old
man, who scoffed terribly at softness in any one”. However, he takes the very
"soft", sympathetic step of painting the leaf, which saves the girl’s
life. In spite of his terrifying appearance and being “a failure in art”,
he makes the deeds of a hero and sacrifices his own to save her life. So
we should not judge people by what image they promote, but instead by their
actions.
Also there is another significant
theme in this story. It is a tight friendship between Sue and Johnsy. They love
and support each other. We can see how Sue carries about her friend when she is
suffering from the disease. She encourages her and doesn’t let her to loose
courage. So, friendship is one of the
most vital things which keep the life going.
5. The events in the analysed text happen in Greenwich Village, which is in New York, in a joint studio of two artists: Sue and Johnsy. The setting of the
events in the story is realistic, it it presented in a general way. It provides a background
for action, reflects the character and embodies the theme. There is an ivy out of the window. The events take
place around this ivy. So it is one of the
elements of the setting and plays a important role in understanding the story itself. The leaf which
is the last on the ivy symbolises immortality, hope and belief.
6. From the point of view of presentation the
story is the 3rd person narrative. There are different elements: an account of events and portraiture. This
technique is used to make the narration more objective and free from any
personal attitude, to evaluate the actions and sayings of the personages and
come to their own conclusions.
7. There are 5 characters we meet in the story. They
are Sue, Johnsy, Behrman, a
doctor
and Mr. Pneumonia.
The main characters are Sue, Johnsy, Mr. Berman and
they are the protagonist of the story as well. The secondary character is a
doctor. Mr. Pneumonia is the antagonist.
Sue’s image is
created only by indirect characterizations. She is shown as a young girl and an
artist who lives with her roommate and at the same time the best friend. She is
very kind and good person. She is a caring individual, who waits and hopes for her
friend’s recovery. Sue loves, always supports and encourages Johnsy. She is
worrying about her heath condition. Also Sue doesn’t loses heart. After the
doctor says the diagnosis and leaves she “cries a Japanese napkin to a pulp”, but
then immediately cheers up and goes into Johnsy's room, “whistling ragtime” and
proceeds to paint to earn some money. We
can understand from the context that she is a kind, hearty and merciful person.
Another main character of the story is Johnsy. She is a character developed
through the indirect, speech characterization and her interactions with
others. She is ill. She is suffering from pneumonia. At the beginning
of the story Johnsy tends to be, in some extent, a pessimistic and weak person,
because she gives up. The girl does not have a desire to fight off the weakness
that her body has created after becoming ill. She doesn’t want to fight
for her place under the sun. She is the person who relies on fate. Her life
depends on the last leaf. And only when she sees this last leaf remaining on
the ivy, she begins to change. The girl mentally becomes a stronger person who
receives a second chance to live.
Mr.
Bergman is another main character of this story. His image is created through
direct and indirect characterizations. Mr. Behrman is an older man and lives
downstairs the two girls. “Old Behrman
was a painter who lived on the ground floor beneath them. 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. Behrman was a failure in art…For the rest he was a
fierce little old man, who scoffed terribly at softness in any one, and who
regarded himself as especial mastiff-in-waiting to protect the two young artists
in the studio above”; “…Behrman
smelling strongly of juniper berries…”; “Old Behrman, with his red eyes plainly
streaming”. These are examples of direct characterizations of the character. Indirect
characterization we can see through his lifestyle and actions. Although Behrman
is down and out in art, he drinks wine to excess and he always mock terribly at
softness of others, he is sympathetic and kind in nature. He sacrifices his own life to help the poor girl.
And this is the most precious. Though he was hard in the outside, he was full
of gentle feelings in heart.
Mr. Pneumonia is an antagonist of the
story. In general, pneumonia is a disease in which the lungs begin to fill with
fluid, making breathing harder. The author personified this disease in this
story. For example: «…a cold, unseen stranger, whom the doctors called
Pneumonia, stalked about the colony, touching one here and there with his icy
fingers. Over on the east side this ravager strode boldly, smiting his victims
by scores, but his feet trod slowly through the maze of the narrow and
moss-grown "places." Mr. Pneumonia was not what you would call a
chivalric old gentleman. A mite of a little woman with blood thinned
by California zephyrs was hardly fair game for the red-fisted,
short-breathed old duffer». Pneumonia is portrayed as a character that
battles and defeats many of the citizens.
8. The plot of the story is traditional
because it includes all elements. It runs as follows:
- exposition ( the
author with the help of setting’s description at the beginning of the story shows us the place in which the
main events will happen. Also we get to know information about the main
characters: Sue and Johnsy. From the words “In a little district west of Washington Square the streets have run crazy
and broken themselves into small strips called “places” till the words “that joint studio
resulted” );
- the story itself
(the author tells us about the illness of one of the girls. From
the words “That
was in May”
till the words “And that afternoon Sue came
to the bed where Johnsy lay, contentedly knitting a very blue and very useless
woolen shoulder scarf, and put one arm around her, pillows and all”);
- the climax (this
is the moment where we get to know that the leaf which is remaining on the wall is painted by Mr. Behrmn and that this causes
his death. From the words “They couldn't imagine
where he had been on such a
dreadfull night” till the words “ivy leaf on the wall”);
- the denouement (the last two
sentences. From the words “didn't you wonder” till the words “the last leaf fell”).
- Here
is an open ending, because we don’t know what will happen with the two girls.
9. The type of speech employed by the author
of the analysed story is a narration. The
given story is a narration with some insertion of dialogue. The events is
presented is chronological order and there is not any flashbacks.
10. In order to
portray the characters, to render the general mood and atmosphere of the story vividly and convincingly the author of the
analysed story resorts to the following devices:
v Lexical:
The similes “lying white and still as fallen statue”, ““…and go sailing
down, down, just like one of those poor, tired leaves” are used to
create image one of the main characters, Johnsy, who is suffering from
pneumonia. These similes help to depict
her physical and emotional state while she is ill. Other simile such as “…and who regarded himself as especial
mastiff-in-waiting to protect the two young artists in the studio above” helps to reveal actions of Mr. Behrman,
namely how he regards himself.
The usage of such metaphor as “The lonesomest thing in all
the world is a soul when it is making ready to go on its mysterious, far
journey” creates Johny’s image. It helps to understand
the girl’s emotional state. We realise that she is frustrated, she falls into
despair and can’t do anything to stay alive. So, she is ready (her soul) to go
on its mysterious journey.
The choice of such epithets as “cold, unseen stranger”,
“icy fingers”, “chivalric old gentleman”, “red-fisted, short-breathed old
duffer” employed by the author to describe the terrible illness
(pneumonia), which is personified in
this story. Through such epithets the author creates the possible appearance of
this disease. And as we can see, this appearance is unpleasant and horrific.
So, if this cold stranger touches you with his icy fingers it can lead to
death. Other epithets “silly ivy
leaves”, “poor, tired leaves” help to create image of two friends. They
show us how these girls differ from each other. Sue doesn’t realise how leaves
can have such a great impact on Johnsy, how life can depend on these “silly ivy
leaves”. In contrast, Johnsy believes that her life is like the life of these
leaves. She is poor and tired as the leaves are.
The hyperbole “… and had a Michael
Angelo's Moses beard curling down from the head of a satyr along with the body
of an imp” is used to produce a humorous effect of the
Mr. Behrman appearance. From this we can understand that he his is an old
ageing man, who doesn’t want to carry about himself.
The other resorts to the personifications, which are used to personify Pneumonia, to portray it as a living being, which possesses all human
qualities. The author shows that a disease as a life creature can play with
human’s health and can wreck their lives. For example: “In November a cold,
unseen stranger, whom the doctors called Pneumonia, stalked about the colony,
touching one here and there with his icy fingers. Over on the east side this
ravager strode boldly, smiting hs victims by scores, but this feet trod slowly
through the maze of the narrow and moss-grown “places”;;“ But Johnsy he
smote; and she lay, scarcely moving, on her painted iron bedstead, looking
through the small Dutch window-panes at the blank side of the next brick
house.”
The zeugma is used in this story to create humorous effect: “So, to
quaint old Greenwich Village the art people soon came prowling, hunting for
north windows and eighteenth-century gables and Dutch attics and low rents”; “ They
had met at the table d'hte of an Eighth Street "Delmonico's”, and found
their tastes in art, chicory salad and bishop sleeves so congenial that the
joint studio resulted.”
In the sentences like these
“Then they imported some pewter mugs and a chafing dish or two from Sixth
Avenue, and became a "colony”, “Young artists must pave their way to Art
by drawing pictures for magazine stories that young authors write to pave their
way to Literature” the author employs to irony which shows a positive attitude of a speaker to the objects,
but at the same time expresses a negative evaluation of them.
Also there is a case of euphemism in the story: “I must go”. This expression is used
instead “I must die”. Johnsy says in such a way, because she doesn’t
treat death as something frightening.
When death comes, she will be ready to meat it.
v Syntactical:
To draw our attention to
the main things the repetitions used
in the story: “She was looking out the window and counting - counting
backward”; “An old, old ivy”; “… and go sailing down, down,
just like one of those poor, tired leaves”; . "I'm tired of, I'm tired of..." All these repetitions are
ordinary. They depict strong feelings and emotions of the characters.
To strengthen the
expressiveness of the utterance the author therhetorical questions are used here: “Vy do you allow dot silly
pusiness to come in der brain of her?”; “W:hat have old ivy leaves to do with
your getting well?”
In this story some cases of
gradation are used. "Twelve,"
she said, and little later "eleven"; and then "ten," and
"nine"; and then "eight" and "seven", almost
together”; "Six," said Johnsy, in almost a whisper. "They're
falling faster now. Three days ago there were almost a hundred. It made my head
ache to count them. But now it's easy. There goes another one. There are only
five left now." Every following word is emotionally stronger and
logically more important. It intensifies the moment in such a matter that we
think how much leaves are left. In this case, leave are a symbol of time. So,
how much time is left Johnsy to live.
To
create the text-rhythm and to attract the reader's attention to these
constructions the author used polysyndeton: "Twelve,"
she said, and little later "eleven"; and then "ten," and
"nine"; and then "eight" and "seven", almost
together.”
Also there are lots of cases of ellipsis “Leaves. On the ivy vine.
When the last one falls I must go, too”; “Paint? - bosh!”, inversion “Still dark green near its
stem, with its serrated edges tinted with the yellow of dissolution and decay,
it hung bravely from the branch some twenty feet above the ground”, “Behrman,
his name is”, detachment “some
kind of an artist, I believe” and emphatic
constructions “It was a sin to want to die”, ““there yet stood out
against the brick wall one ivy leaf”. They help to express additional
information, which makes the utterance more full and detailed. Also they add logical stress and emotional colouring to
the meaning and denote colloquial speech.
v Graphic:
The words “Pneumonia”, “Art”, “Literature”, “Mistress’s robe”
are capitalized. The
author used it to emphasize its importance.
The author resorts to the graphons, which we can see
in the following passage: "Vass!" he cried. "Is dere
people in de world mit der foolishness to die because leafs dey
drop off from a confounded vine? I haf not heard of such a thing. No, I
will not bose as a model for your fool hermit-dunderhead. Vy do you
allow dot silly pusiness to come in der brain of her? Ach, dot
poor leetle Miss Yohnsy." These graphons help us to indicate the origin of Mr. Behrman. We can say
that he is a German, because all these words have Germanic origin.
And finally O.Henry uses
graphic means: "mastiff-in-waiting to protect" (shows Behrman's nature), "one chance in - let us say", "is a man worth - but…"
(through that we can see Sue's astonishment that the doctor could think that a
man can be somehow the reason of her fancy),"counting-counting",
“to-morrow”, “to-day” etc.
11.
Summing up the analysis of
the given extract I would like to say that O. Henry brilliantly uses on the lexical level – metaphors, similes, hyperbole, epithet,
zeugma etc.; on the syntactical level – nominative and elliptical sentences,
polysyndeton, inversion, repetitions, gradation etc.; on the graphic level –
graphon and graphic means which help to
create a true-to-life atmosphere of the events depicted and bring home to the
reader the main idea of the text. He uses
the technique that O. Henry is famous for: the twist or surprise ending. This
story helps me to believe that there are friend, kindness, charity and
self-sacrifice in this world. This story encourages me not to give up, fight
for my place under the sun and always believe in happy end.
