ENGLISH Chapter 7 - The Last Leaf

 Chapter 7 - The Last Leaf

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

Johnsy was suffering from pneumonia. The doctor said that she seemed to have made up her mind that she was not going to get well. Medicines would not be able to cure her. She could only be cured by her willingness to live.

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

Yes, the feeling of depression Johnsy has is very common among teenagers. The reason for this is the present lifestyle and circumstances under which teenagers are made to outperform in every field. They get depressed for not performing well in their examinations or not meeting up to their parents expectations. Daily activities like, preparing for school examinations, sports, coaching classes, crash courses, etc., put the teenagers under so much pressure that they sometimes lose the control of their mind and end up being depressed.

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

Behrman was a sixty year old painter. His lifelong dream was to paint a masterpiece. Yes, his dream came true when he painted a green and healthy leaf clinging to the creeper on the window that looked extremely natural. He painted the last leaf left on the ivy creeper.

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

Behrman’s masterpiece was the ivy leaf he painted the night the last leaf on the creeper fell. The leaf looked green and healthy like a natural leaf.

Sue calls the leaf painting a masterpiece because it made Johnsy believe that it was the real, natural leaf left on the creeper and this gave her the will to live and she was able to recover from her illness. Behrman’s masterpiece saved her life but took his own.