Ms. Leo’s 11R 2011 Short Story Unit Questions 31 March 2011
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THE LAST LEAF: Read the last page of the short story before answering these 3 questions.
1. If the theme of this short story is “self-sacrifice”, who made what sacrifice? Explain. (theme)
2. What is ironic about the way Behrman looks and sounds, vs. how he is toward the girls, and what he does for Johnsy? Explain. (character)
3. Was the leaf the attachment that Johnsy needed to hang onto life, or was it her ‘permission’ to die? Explain. (symbolism)
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he acts tough and brutish but he is just a big softy towards the girls.
he does in fact act tough but he is also very good to the other girls…
I agree t=
he in fact was a big softie.. although he treated the girls like his own grandkids..
I agree.
Dan, I agree with you; he is mean to everyone else except the girls.
1.I believe Mr.Behrman made the sacrifice by making Johnsy think that she had more time to live since he painted the last leaf after it fell.
2.The ironic thing about the way Behrman looks and sounds vs. how he is toward the girls is he seems like a nice guy and by what he does for Johnsy makes him seem like a guy who is willing to help other people and make them better.
3.It was her ‘permission’ to die because the leaf had nothing really to do with holding Johnsy onto living; she has her decision to die or not. She made the right choice by thinking that the leaf was her attachment because she held on longer than when she said she was going to die
Natasha, I disagree that it was her “permission” to die because no one really wants to die. She just needed something to help her see that if a simple leaf of a vine can stay alive and hold on then she could as well and therefore give her the will to live.
1.the person that sacrificed was Berhman because he died for the other girl johnsy to live.
2.Behrman is a old mean grouchy man and he hates people that are kind and soft. but he is the same way to the two girls – he is kind to them.
3.yes the leaf was the attachment that johnsy needed to hang on because she wouldn’t have stayed alive if the leaf didn’t stay on that tree.
1. Behrman made the sacrifice of painting the last leaf so Johnsy would live, but by finishing his masterpiece he died.
2. Bahrman was an old man who was cranky and didn’t like to be bothered, but when with Sue and Johnsy he defends them from any kind of harm.
3. The last leaf was Johnsy’s will to hang onto life since the leaves acted like an hour glass of her life, and when all the leaves would be gone she couldn’t hold onto life anymore.
it was kinda ironic that he died after he finally finished his masterpiece
1.Behrman made a sacrifice so that johnsy could live.
2.Behrman is mean to other people but he was nice to the two girls
3.yes it was the attachment, the reason she didnt die was because the leaf was still on the tree.
I think your post would have a stronger arguement if you went the extra mile and explained a bit more on why you chose the answers you chose.
1. Johnsy made the sacrifice because she loooked after sue the whole time she was sick
1. I think that Berhman was the man who made the biggest sacrifice
2. he is very mean to everyone else, but to those two girls he is nice and kind
3. the leaf on the tree showed the attachment that johnsy needed to stay alive like that leave staying there
1.Behrman made a sacrifice so that johnsy could live.
2.Behrman is mean to other people but he was nice to the two girls
3.yes it was the attachment, the reason she didn’t die was because the leaf was still on the tree.
1. Johnsy made the sacrifice because she loooked after sue the whole time she was sick
1) I think that Mr. Behrman made “self-sacrifice” by donating his time to
help take care of Johnsy. He kept telling her that she was going to live
and be well again.
2) What is ironic about Mr. Behrman is that he is a really nice guy and
wants to help people like Johnsy. He painted the last leaf right before he
died.
3)I think the leaf was Johnsy’s ‘permission’ to die. When the last leaf would
so will Johnsy but the leaf never fell so that told Johnsy that she was not
going.
he acts tough and brutish but he is just a big softy towards the girls.
Q-3 Johnsy only used it as an attachment to life when the last leaf didnt fall when she wanted it to
1. In the story the last leaf Mr Behrman made a self sacrifice by staying out in the cold storms to paint the last leaf so that Johnsy wouldn’t give up.
2. Mr Behrman look like a rough old man. He is very tough on the softies. Although he is like a body guard to the two girls. He paints the last leaf on the ivy vine for Johnsy.
3. The last leaf in my opinion was Johnsy’s permission to live. She though that God was waiting for her and the leaves were his way of letting her know when her time was.
what about God? Did anybody say anything about God?
2. he is mean and talks tough to most people but is nice to the girls
1 sue made the sacrifice because she helped johnsy get better
kolby, Sue made a sacrifice to help her only get better physically but mentally Behrman made her hold onto life by painting the leaf and then losing his life because of it.
1. if any one had self-sacrafice it was Mr.Behrman because he sacraficed the rest of his time that he had left to live to paint the leaf so that johnsy wouldnt have permission to die.
2.Mr. Behrman looked old and tired but towards the girls he was happy and acted young again.
3.the leaf was her attachment for her to hang on to life because it was like a key for her to live or not.
1. i think Berhman sacrificed catching pneumonia to go paint the fake leaf to keep her alive, knowing he could catch pneumonia.
2. Berhman is mean toward other people and soft and protective towards the girls.
3. i think the leaf was an attachment to life because she was waiting for the last leaf to fall before she could let herself go.
It is a self sacrifice in this short story and Mr. Behrman made that sacrifice to save Johnsy’s life because he cared about the two girls so much. Mr. Behrman looks old and grumpy toward people, but to the girls it’s their father figure because he does care about them which he painted his masterpiece which it’s a leaf and it saved Johnsy’s life. The leaf was an attachment of life because since the leaf didn’t fall ever, Johnsy will live and probably paint sometime the Bay of Naples.
1. Mr. Behrman made the sacrificed himself in order to help johnsy get better. He went out and painted the last ivy leaf on the vine in order to make johnsy see she’s got her whole life ahead of her, and in the process Mr. Behrman got pneumonia an died two days later.
2. Mr. Behrman sounds like he doesn’t care, and acts like he’s ignoring johnsy’s situation, but really Mr. Behrman goes out in the terrible weather to paint the last ivy leaf showing he cares about johnsy’s health and Sue’s being worried.
3. The leaf was the attachment johnsy needed to live, she had the will to live to paint the Bay of Naples and to help Mr. Behrman paint his final masterpiece, which was the final ivy leaf on the vine. And to let him die in peace in a way.
1. Mr.Behrman sacrificed his life for johnsy because he stood outside in the cold painting the leaf
2. He is rude then he is nice to the girls and paints the leaf
3. yes the leaf was the attachment for johnsy live because if it was gone she would die
1.Mr. Behrman made the sacrifice by making Johnsy think that she had more time to live since he painted the last leaf after it fell.
2.The ironic thing about the way Behrman looks and sounds and how he is toward the girls is that he seems like a nice guy and what he does for Johnsy makes him seem like a guy who is willing to help other people
3.It was her choice to die because the leaf had nothing really to do with holding Johnsey onto living; she had her decision to die or to live. She thought that the leaf was her attachment because she held on longer than when she said she was going to die.
Behrman made a sacrifice so that johnsy could live. Behrman was mean to other people but when it came to the girls he was nice. the leaf was johnsy’s attachment that she needed to hang onto life, because once she knew that the leaf was still there she could keep living. and that’s how she was getting better.
the person who made the self sacrifice was Mr. Behrman; he made the sacrifice by painting the leaf and taking over the illness.
the way mr. behrman acts towards the girls and what he does for johnsy shows that he is willing to take her place and let her live .. but when looking at him you would think he was an older stubborn man.
the leaf was an attachment to hang onto life. Johnsy believed with the leaf be gone she was going to be gone. she didn’t realized that the leaf was more of a wake-up call.
Ashley M. I agree with you. The Last Leaf was a wake up call. The leaf woke up Johnsy. She realized when the leaf did fall after she saw the painted leaf that it was not her time.
1 Mr. Behrman had self sacrifice because he was already sick from visiting the girls and he still went out in the cold of the night to paint the last leaf.
2 Mr. Behrman appeared old, exhausted, and tired but towards the girls he went out of his way to show he was still a nice guy and would go out of his way for someone if they gave him the chance
3 I think the leaf was an excuse for her to die because she just didn’t wanna be sick anymore.
WRONG. mr behrman was old but he was rough not exhausted.
@brandonj I think he was in fact exhausted not only because of his age but because he had been visiting the girls he was getting sick and sick people often tend to be more exhausterd
@alexY i in fact, I think that he wasn’t sick till the following day after he visited them and painted the leaf.
1. I think Behrman made the sacrifice because he painted the last leaf so Johnsy could have the will to live, which led to him becoming ill.
2. The author describes Behrman as a rough looking man but he seems caring towards the girls and would go through struggles to help them.
3. The leaf was an attachment that Johnsy thought she needed; turns out she didn’t.
1 I think Mr. Behrman sacrificed because he spent the rest of his time painting the leaf so that johnsy wouldn’t be waiting to die.
2. Mr. Behrman acted happy and cheerful towards the girls when in fact he was old and tired.
3. The leaf was an attachment for Johnsy because she waited for the last one to fall. She felt like that was the key to live or not.
1. Mr. Behrman made the sacrifice because he stayed up the night in the rain and wind painting the leaf on the vine to keep johnsy alive.
2. Mr. Behrman was an old rugged looking man who was an aspiring artist but never made it. Although he acts tough to the other people he’s good to the girls because he was like a father to them. He gave his life for johnsy in painting the leaf on the vine so she wouldn’t give up on her life.
3. The leaf was the will to hang onto life because when she woke up it was still there and she didn’t die.
1. In the story The Last Leaf the theme of the story is self sacrifice because Mr. Behrman stayed out in the rain to save Johnsy’s life.
2. Mr. Behrman sounds like he’s tired and old, but when he’s around the girls he seems happy and young again.
3.the leaf was her attachment on life to either hang onto life or just throw everything away and die.
1. I believe that Behrman made the largest sacrifice because he got sick and died so that Johnsy could live.
2. He may look rugged and old but he still is kind and cares very much for the girls. He knew Johnsy’s dreams and since he hadn’t accomplished his, I believe that’s why he helped her live because Johnsy need to paint the Bay of Naples. He then made his masterpiece because what Behrman painted made Johnsy live.
3.The leaf was the need to stay alive for Johnsy.She didn’t want death, but she knew that like everything else, leavess die because they cant hold on any longer. If the leaf could hold on then she could to.
@Susan If the leaf was “the need to stay alive” why was she wanting it to fall off? wouldn’t that make it the need to die?
Susan A. I agree with you. Your description on how Mr. Behrman made the biggest sacrifice is true. He gave up his life so that Johnsy could live. He went and got himself sick and painted a leaf on the window. The leaf helped Johnsy realize that she was going to keep living and not die.
1./ I do believe that Mr.Behrman accomplished the self-sacrifice in that story. Since Johnsy was holding on to life only until the last leaf would fall, he went outside to replace the fallen leaf with a painted leaf. We could say that he actually “saved” Johnsy by making her realize her life was not over.
2./ Mr Behrman might sound funny because of his German accent firstly, which also represent his harsh behavior toward other people, since German is a really tough language. Obviously, that first impression is replaced when we realize that Mr Behrman went outside, and probably got touched by “the icy finger” of Mr Pneumonia, all that to replace a single leaf on a tree. We could also say that his masterpiece was therefore not a painting but the act of saving Johnsy. He also knew that Johnsy still had to realize her own masterpiece, and he could share the will to paint a masterpiece, since he never had to paint his before his last night of life.
3./ I think the tree kind of represented her life, and each leaf represented something to hang on to. The story also says that it’s awful how lonely you are when you are ready to go, and all the “strings” that tie you to the world are cut one after another. Therefore, the leaves must represent all those strings, and since the last one is now a painted leaf, it will be a permanent anchor to life.
1)Behrman made the sacrifice by painting the last leaf so that Johnsy had more hope for herself to live.
2)Behrman is a tough old man when it comes to the kind people but he only was because for a while in his life he was a failure at painting; he had no meaning to paint good art, but knowing that Johnsy had more of a life to live, he had a reason to paint the “last leaf” and sacrificed himself for the girls, which made him a good artist in the end.
3)She needed it to hang on to life because she knew that if it was to fall she was to give up on life just like the leaf did.
Mr. Behrman made the sacrifice by painting the last leaf before he died from pneumonia so that the girls spirits would be lifted.
Mr. Behrman looks very scruff and looks like a tough guy, but to the girls he protects them and is always watching over them.
The leaf in my opinion didn’t really matter; it was all up to if she wanted to live or not that had her hold onto life.
Dalton, Johnsey believed that whether the leaf fell or not would decide if she lived or died.
1 i think mr behrman made the biggest sacrifice so the johnsy could get through her sickness
2 mr behrman was like the jesus figure in this short story and in a way was johnsy’s savoir
3 i think it was her permission to die if she feel she will die when the leaf falls shes giving her self permission to die then
1. I think Mr. Behrman definitely made the greatest sacrifice; he stayed up all night to paint the leaf for Johnsy, and because of that he got sick and ended up dying.
2. Behrman didn’t look like a very happy person; he kind of acted miserable. Behrman acted differently towards the girls; he was very kind-hearted and did anything for those girls.
3. No, the leaf was not an attachment Johnsy needed to hang on to life. It was all up to Johnsy whether she wanted to live or not; it was her decision to give up or want to stay alive.
1. I believe Old Behrman made the biggest sacrifice to do his masterpiece of ‘The Last Leaf’ to keep Johnsy alive. He risked his own health and ended up dying by the end of the short story.
2. The ironic thing about Old Behrham was that he thought it basically was, in other words, ‘ridiculous’ that Johnsy would rely on a leaf to keep herself hanging to life. Well, he ends up saving Johnsy by painting the leaf the night of the storm to keep her hanging on, while he let go of his own life.
3. I think it was her way to hang onto life since she was trying to keep her mind focused. Since she was in pain from the sickness and more than likely pained that her changes were so low to living. I believe she referred to herself as the Ivy Vine to be attached to something. Possibly the fact is because the Ivy’s leafs were hanging onto life like she was.