The Last Leaf

Think About It

1.What is Jonsy’s illness? What can cure her, the medicine or the will to live?

Johnsy is very sick with pneumonia. The doctor says only wanting to get better can help her. She thinks she won't get better, but the doctor says if she doesn't want to live, medicine won't work.

2. Do you think, the feeling of depression Jonsy has, is common among teenagers?

Many teenagers feel sad and stressed because they have to do well in everything. School, family, and friends expect a lot. Sometimes, it's too much, and they feel really down. It's important to help and support them.

3. Behrman has a dream? What is it? Does it come true?

Behrman was sixty years old painter. He has a dream of creating a masterpiece. It does come true when he paints a leaf such that it looks extremely natural. He painted the last leaf on the creeper that helped save Jonsy’s life.

4. What is Behrman’s masterpiece? What makes sue say so?

Behrman's best painting is the last leaf on the plant. Sue calls it a masterpiece because it helped Johnsy feel better. Johnsy thought she'd get sick if the last leaf fell. But Behrman painted a new leaf all night, got sick, and passed away. Seeing the leaf, Johnsy felt better.

Extra Questions

5. What did the doctor say after examining Jonsy? (Or) What was the doctor’s observation?

The doctor checked Johnsy and said she had a small chance to get better. Johnsy thought she wouldn't get well. The doctor said she should focus on happy things and want to live. It would help her feel better. He promised to give the best medicine and advised Sue to do everything possible to inject some hope and willpower back to Jonsy.

6. Why did Jonsy keep asking Sue to open the curtains?

Jonsy was suffering from Pneumonia. She was counting the leaves left behind on the old ivy tree in front of her window.She believed that when the last one left, she was eager to see when it would fall.

8. Who is Behrman? How did he earn his living?

Behrman was a painter who lived on the ground floor beneath sue and Jonsy. He was old and past sixty and failure in art. He used to earn his living by serving as a model to those young artists in the colony who could not pay the price of a professional.

9. What was bothering Jonsy as she lay in her sick bed?

Johnsy got really sick with pneumonia. She thought she was going to leave this world. She kept watching a vine with falling leaves, thinking each leaf meant less time to live. She believed when the last leaf fell, she would go too. So, she waited for that last leaf.

10. Justify the title the last leaf.

Johnsy felt that when the last leaf from the ivy vine fell, she would also die. Behrman painted a leaf on the ivy branch when the last leaf fell before he died. It was his first and last masterpiece. It saved Jonsy’s life. So the title is apt.