Tag: emotional

The Last Leaf is one of the most popular short stories penned by O.Henry. First published in the early 1900s, this was part of his short story collection, The Trimmed Lamp.

The Last Leaf by O Henry: Summary and Plot Analysis

The story, set in Greenwich village, revolves around the lives of two young female artists – Sue and Johnsy, who live together in a small flat on the third floor of an old house. 

Johnsy, suffering from pneumonia, is critically ill. She lies in her bed without moving, continually staring outside the window, worrying Sue. Her prognosis doesn’t look good, and the doctor expects her end to be near, given her complete lack of will to live, rendering the medicines ineffective.

Sue tries to make Johnsy a bit more interested in things around her, but to no avail. Sue begins to paint instead but is soon distracted by Johnsy counting backward, looking outside the window. Sue comes to know that Johnsy was counting the leaves left on the ivy creeper, visible from their window. Johnsy also proclaims that the moment of the last leaf from the creeper falling would be her last breath. 

Sue, worried sick at Johnsy’s statement, tries to show how absurd that thought was and to convince her not to think such things. 

Knowing that her efforts did little to convince Johnsy, Sue rushes to seek help from another painter downstairs – a 60-year-old man named Behrman. 

Behrman’s lifelong ambition was to paint a masterpiece, but so far, he hasn’t been able to paint it. 

Sue mentions her concerns about Johnsy’s lack of will to leave and her belief that she will sleep forever once the last leaf falls. Seeing no sense in such imaginings, Behrman laughs it off but agrees to honor Sue’s request to pose.

Johnsy was surprised to see the last leaf still clinging to the creeper the following day and the following evening despite the storm. 

Filled with remorse at her depression and lack of response to her friend Sue, Johnsy stops thinking of death and moves on. 

Sue is delighted to see her having soup and combing her hair – something she sees as a sign of the return of her desire to live. The visit by the doctor confirms that Johnsy is well on the path to recovery.

Once fully recovered, Sue lets Johnsy know of Behrman’s death from pneumonia, painting the last leaf which kept her alive.

The Last Leaf: Review and My Thoughts

This story brought back flashes of Gift of Magi; however, I surprise myself when I say that I find this one more saddening than the latter. 

The lonesomest thing in all the world is a soul when it is ready to go on its mysterious far journey. The fancy seemed to possess her more strongly as one by one the ties that bound her to friendship and to earth were loosed.

While somber at the core, there are a lot of other flavors in the story. Consider the unnamed physician, for example. There is a certain weird comic relief from the unnamed physician that visits Johnsy, 

I will do all that science, so far as it may filter through my efforts, can accomplish. But whenever my patient begins to count carriages in her funeral procession, I subtract 50 percent from the curative power of medicines. 

If you will get her to ask one question about the new winter styles in the cloak sleeves , I will promise you a one-in-five chance for her instead of a one-in-ten.

And then there is quite the strong emotion that Sue betrays, when asked if love with a man was what was root of Johnsy’s misery.

Has she anything on her mind worth thinking about twice – a man, for instance?

“A man?” said Sue, with a twang in her voice. Is a man worth – but no, doctor; there is nothing of the kind.

Not once is there a mention of the families of either Sue or Johnsy. And as far as I can recall, not of Behrman either.

The girls seem poor and young but devoted to each other and the craft. 

The old man downstairs: a drunk but soft-hearted; he is willing to go the distance for them. There is a certain purity in their emotion – otherworldly, seemingly embodying art itself.

O.Henry has painted for us quite the life of struggling artists. I marvel at how astute the painting is. Almost as good, if not better, than Behrman’s masterpiece.

This short story by O.Henry, published in the early 1900s, explores the theme of justice, compassion, and love.

A Dollar’s Worth: Summary and Plot Analysis

The story opens with a letter. The letter is a threat from one of the convicts to the judge Mr. Derwent, who had presided over the case leading to his conviction. 

The judge, used to such threats in his line of work over the years, brushes it aside, although he does make a note of the threat against the district attorney.

The district attorney, Mr. Littlefield, is engaged to be married to Nancy Derwent, the judge’s daughter.

The judge informs Littlefield of such a threat, who smiles with contempt, but is curious to know the writer, who, he soon learns, is a man nicknamed Mexico Sam.

The distraction didn’t last long, as the district attorney was soon called upon to judge the case of counterfeiting by Rafael Ortiz.

There were witnesses to him passing on the counterfeit coin to purchase a medicine bottle. According to the deputy that brought him in, this was the first time he was caught.

A woman named Joya Trevinas soon visits them and claims to be the one that made the counterfeit money and got Rafael to pass it along. It was her fault that he was in prison, and she would happily swap places with him.

Littlefield, having seen such occurrences commonly, denied offering to make any such accommodation. He would prosecute based on evidence and nothing else. Rafael would have to make his case in court.

Littlefield and Miss Derwent went off for plover shooting later that day. While busy enjoying the shooting and each other’s company, they soon see a man attempting to attack them. Littlefield tries to keep Miss Derwent out of harm’s way while struggling to defend himself against the attacker.

Littlefield gets minor injuries in a crossfire that ensues, while Mexico Sam, their attacker, dies.

The following day in the court, Littlefield requests the court to strike off the case and requests a pardon for Rafael Ortiz.

It is later revealed in the conversation between Littlefield and Kilpatrick that the fake lead counterfeit coin ended up saving their life. He also asked for the address of Ortiz’s girlfriend, Nancy Derwent, who had been meaning to meet her.

Who doesn’t like happy endings?

A Dollar’s Worth: Review and My Thoughts

The story brought back memories of a movie I watched years ago. A movie called The Judge starring Robert Duvall and Robert Downey Jr.

The story, like the movie, explores the themes of justice, compassion, revenge, love, and gratitude. 

A disgruntled convict, a fair judge, a clever deputy, and two young men, willing to do whatever it takes to shield their love from harm. The thing about the story is that it is authentic and believable. The evolution of the district attorney’s perspective is very organic and, as a result, heartwarming.

I can do nothing. The case comes up in the morning, and he will have to make his fight before the court.

Pity hasn’t a place in jurisprudence.

Can’t you go down the jacals and find where Joya Trevinas lives. Miss Derwent wants to know.

Not to say that the judge was any less fair after, but the incident with Mexico Sam, and seeing the mortal threat to the love of his life and his own, opened his eyes to the importance of compassion. At the end of the day, we are all humans.

Nancy Derwent was shown to be compassionate from the start. Her reaction to the Trevinas’s visit was very different from Littlefield’s.

Can’t you do anything for them, Bob? It’s such a little thing – one counterfeit dollar – to ruin the happiness of two lives! She was in danger of death and he did it to save her. Doesn’t the law know the feeling of pity?

I am an expert by no means (read I know nothing), and to me, this quote from Julian Baggini captured the essence of this short story:

A society needs both justice and compassion, a head and heart if it is to be civilized.

The Dead is a part of James Joyce’s short story collection called The Dubliners, first published in 1914. The Dead is one of the most celebrated short stories of James Joyce, frequently adapted into plays and movies. It had a broad appeal – in and outside Ireland.

The Dead by James Joyce: Summary and Plot Analysis

The story opens in the setting of Misses Morkan’s annual dance. Sisters Kate and Julia Morkan, along with their niece Mary Jane Morkan and their housemaid Lily are hosting friends and family at the Morkan residence. 

Kate and Julia are eager to welcome Gabriel Conroy, a professor, and a writer, along with his wife, Gretta. 

A very awkward conversation with Lily about her love life makes Gabriel a tad uncomfortable, but he quickly regains composure once in the company of his aunts. 

Guests keep pouring in, including Freddy Malins – the drunk, and Mr. Browne – the flirt.

Mary Jane entertains the audience with a piano performance, and guests dance. Gabriel ends up getting paired with Miss Ivors, a fellow university professor fervently supportive of Irish culture. 

She puts Gabriel ill at ease, labeling him West Briton on account of his literary reviews written for a conservative newspaper. Gabriel fights the allegations and politely declines her offer to visit the predominantly Irish Aran Isles citing his planned European cycling trip.

Miss Ivors takes that to be his lack of interest in his own country and pokes him for that – Gabriel, cornered, blurts out his dislike for the country.

He moves on from that conversation and talks to other people, but the bitter aftertaste lingers in his mind.

Miss Ivors leaves soon after, to the surprise of the Morkans and the relief of Gabriel. Dinner soon follows, with Gabriel at the head of the table, carving out the goose.

Everyone eats, and Gabriel delivers his speech, expressing his appreciation for his aunts, cousin Mary Jane, and their warm hospitality. His speech is met with loud applause, and everyone toasts their three hostesses.

Guests slowly begin to leave, and while Gabriel is getting ready to do so, he notices his wife transfixed by a song Mr. Bartell D’Arcy sang in the drawing room.

As guests continue to leave, she remains lost in thought, completely detached from her surroundings. Gabriel feels drawn to his wife; the aura of mystery around her evokes strong memories of their courtship and young love.

They leave and head to the hotel for the night’s stay. Gretta continues to be detached and thoughtful, oblivious to her husband’s romantic plans for the night.

After further prodding by Gabriel, she reveals the cause of her sudden emotional outburst. A song from earlier that evening reminded her of her youth, and in it, a young man called Michael Furey, who was a devoted lover. Michael used to sing the song for her back in Galway.

He died soon after she left Galway for Dublin, meeting his tragic end after contracting a cold, waiting for her in the cold, outside her residence.

The Dead: Review and My Thoughts

What started as a very regular family party – with its drama and chaos, quickly turned into something else – a story of frustrating personal and professional expectations, love, loss, passion, and disillusionment. 

Gabriel looks like a regular guy – eager to impress people, loves the smell of new books (who doesn’t, right?), and is nervous about public speaking, awkward at small talk (who asks a housemaid about their love life to boot?) but as the story evolves you get to know more about him – his discomfort on being branded a West Briton, his irritation at the paltry review cheques, his frustration at the spousal love lost and the cognitive dissonance resulting from the requirement of letting go of the past, vis-à-vis his inability to do so.

His wife’s revelation of the death of a young lover makes him uncomfortable, long for the life of passion he never had, and makes him ruminate on the hold the dead have on the living. 

Escaping the past was a theme in Gabriel’s speech; the speech was so well-liked at the party, but can he practice what he preaches?

At one point in the story, while Gretta is sleeping and Gabriel is deep in thought, you can’t help but wonder if his wife having a deeply dedicated lover makes him grow even more morose, thinking to himself : 

Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion than fade and wither dismally with age.

James Joyce’s The Dead shines brighter as the years pass by.