Sunday, July 5, 2020

The Last Leaf, O Henry (Exercise)

THE LAST LEAF, O Henry

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WORD MEANINGS

 

Pg. 27

1.         stranger - unknown

2.         victims - wounded, ill ones

3.         smote - called

4.         scarcely - hardly, barely

5.         accomplish - achieve, complete

6.         carriages - vehicle pulled by horse

7.         curative - recovering, ailment, becoming alright

8.         ripple - wrinkle, slight movement

9.         staggered - slight movement

10.       congenial - agreeable

11.       stalked - hunted

12.       smiting - striking someone forcefully

Pg. 28

13.       dreary - gloomy, dull

14.       bare - empty

15.       crumbling - breaking into small pieces

16.       ache - pain, agony

17.       magnificent - wonderful

18.       scorn - contempt, a feeling of someone is silly yet tolerate

19.       beneath - below

20.       hermit - monk, holy person

21.       derision - scorn, ridicule

22.       endured - lasted

23.       serrated - jagged

Pg. 29

24.       fragile - easily broken

25.       confounded - cursed, confused

26.       morbid - weak, unhealthy

27.       peered - looked through

28.       persistent - steady, continuous

29.       wearily - with total tiredness

30.       fierce - dangerous

31.       stirring - exciting, interesting

32.       sin - bad act

33.       broth - soup

Pg. 30

34.       acute - severe, critical, terrible

35.       janitor - doorkeeper, caretaker


B. Choose the right options to answer these questions.


1. Who was the cold stranger who stalked about the colony in November?

a. Mr. Behrman

b. pneumonia

c. plague

d. the watchman

Ans. (b) pneumonia


2. What is the one thing that Johnsy really wants to paint?

a. an ivy leaf

b. a masterpiece

c. a pen-and-ink drawing of the Queen

d. the Bay of Naples

Ans. (d) the Bay of Naples


C. Read these sentences from the text and answer the questions that follow.

1. "But when my patient begins to count the carriages in her funeral procession, I subtract fifty per cent from the curative power of medicine."

a. Who is the speaker?

The doctor is the speaker here.

b. Who is the patient?

Johnsy is the patient.

c. Is that literally what the patient was doing?

No, the patient was not doing as mentioned. It is figurative to express she was imagining her death nearing.


2. Johnsy lay, scarcely making a ripple under the bedclothes, with her face towards the window. 

a. What is meant by 'scarcely making a ripple under the bedclothes'?

It means she was completely still and not making any movement as if she was sleeping.

b. Why was she looking out of the window?

She was looking out of the window to count the number of ivy leaves falling from the vine as the time moved ahead.


3. "I want to turn loose my hold on everything, and go sailing down, down, just like one of those poor, tired leaves."

a. Who says this?

Johnsy says this.

b. What does the speaker mean by, 'go sailing down, down'?

It means just like the old leaves disconnecting themselves from the vine; she imagines to die and go away from this world.

c. Why are the leaves 'tired'?

The leaves were clinging to the vine for several days and were tired eventually.


D. Think and Answer.

1. Why did Behrman act as a model for the artists in the neighbourhood?

The old painter, Behrman was earning a little by serving as a model to the young artists in the colony.


2. The author introduces Behrman as 'a fierce little old man'. How is this character trait illustrated in the story?

The old man, in his past sixty was a failure artist and survived with a little earning he made. But he was rough and tough; his dream to paint a masterpiece was always active. He also stood as a protector of the two your artists in the studio above. Such was his will power.


3. Why is the story called The Last Leaf? Can you think of another title for the story?

In this story Johnsy believes she would die when the last leaf remaining in the vine withers. This is so ridiculous, therefore the old and failed painter, Behrman paints a last leaf that would never fall. So the last leaf remains as a hope and strength to regain a life.


[STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO WRITE A TITLE ON THEIR OWN]


E. Discuss in detail.


1. Johnsy recovered her health as soon as she regained her hope for life and began to eat. Discuss.

"I have been a bad girl... It is a sin to want to die." was the statement from Johnsy. She learns that the willingness to live is the first necessity to survive. So she regrets for being so negative about her life and connecting her fate to the last leaf of the vine. Once she realises this she shows the sign of improvement. 


2. Is there a lesson for us in the way Behrman risked his life to save Johnsy's?

Old Behrman, who always dreamed about painting a masterpiece and he believed one day he would fulfill this dream before he goes away. But he forgot about his own dream when it came to save the life of Johnsy. So he risked his life and painted a leaf on the wall and that eventually led him to death. Such was his sacrifice. Behrman teaches us the true meaning of sacrifice.

---:THE END:---