The Last Leaf is a short story that tells a tale of self sacrifice. A woman is thinks that when the last leaf falls off the vine outside her window, her life will end. Another man, who lived downstairs, was an artist. He decided to paint a vine outside of her window, so that the last leaf would never fall. On the cold, rainy night that he painted it, he fell ill with pneumonia, and shortly thereafter, he died. This short story showed that sacrificing for others is a true form of love. O'Henry used various rhetorical devices to help him convey his message. One of which was imagery. He used his diction to help paint a picture in his head of his audience. He is incredibly descriptive which allows the reader to visualize the story. Rather that saying that Johnsey was laying in bed, he said" Johnsey lay, scarcely making a ripple under the bedclothes, with her face toward the window." This added to the story because it makes it more interesting to read and much easier to flow along with. He also appeals to pathos. The story uses emotion to help prove that the best form of love is self sacrificial. The characters cry and feel emotions, which helps the reader relate more to the story. The reader also is aided by shifting syntax throughout the story which helps keep it interesting. He shifts between long and short sentences, and the dialogue goes from long, drawn out sentences, to short ones. Also, he uses different tones for each person. The reader can tell who is talking by the diction and tone of the speaker. Symbols are also used in the text as well. The ivy leaves symbolize hope, and each time one falls off, hope is lost, but when the artist paints one, it shows that there will always be hope through self sacrificial acts. Although this story was short, O'Henry used may different devices to help him get his point across.
The imagery used by O'Henry was an important aspect of the story and you have many good examples of it. The different tones of each person was a great device to point out because it enhanced each character.
It was very good to point out the different diction and tones for each character. I noticed it, but I did not think of how to interpret it as a rhetorical device within my blog. I also think that it is good that you discussed the descriptiveness of O'Henry's short story. These are very important things that add to the pathos of the story, which you also successfully pointed out.
I also used emotions as a strategy. His imagery was very effective and I think that it ties in with the adjective usage that I was talking about in my blog.
The last leaf is a touching story of a girl who falls ill with pneumonia and believes that her life will end when the last leaf falls from the ivy vine outside her window. The story is one of sacrifice and love because an old man sacrificed himself for the ill girl by going out in the bitter cold and painting a leaf on the wall after the last leaf fell so it would never fall for the girl. He then contracted pneumonia and died in two days. He was also looking to paint an artistic masterpiece in his life; this was his masterpiece. O Henry used rhetorical devices to tell his great story. Among these were imagery and a great appeal to emotion through his diction. The imagery comes into play with the description of the characters and the setting. He descriptions made the reader almost feel as if they were within the story. "In November a cold, unseen stranger, whom the doctors called Pneumonia, stalked about the colony, touching one here and there with his icy fingers." In this quote the author is merely describing the coming of pneumonia and how it is causing widespread death, but he does it in a very descriptive way. Along with his marvelous imagery O Henry used was his appeal to emotion using his great diction. He appeals to emotion by the mood of the entire story, it is solemn but yet hopeful which appeals to the reader's sense of emotion. "Leaves. On the ivy vine. When the last one falls I must go, too." this makes the reader feel sadness but hope for what will actually happen. It is a technique of captivation and it is very effective. The story altogether is emotional and has a semi happy ending with the sick girl getting well and the old man dying in sacrifice for the young girl. A very well written story with a great message of love and sacrifice.
I agree with Hannah that your usage of quotes helped to emphasize the ideas of your blog. Your explanation of the pathos used in the story was also well done.
The Last leaf is a heart warming short story focusing on the ideal of self sacrifice. The story begins with two women named Johnsy and and Sue who are working together in an art studio. Johnsy catches pneumonia and put into the hospital. She believes that one the last leaf of the ivy vine falls to the ground, it will be her time to pass on. Sue talk to a man named Mr. Behrem, who is an artist. She conceived him to say out on the rain all night to paint an ivy vine with the last leaf hanging from it stem so that Johnsy will try to get better. Because of this Mr. Behrem passes away from pneumonia two days later. There are many rhetorical devices used throughout this piece including personification and imagery. In the fourth paragraph the author uses personification to describe the disease pneumonia. Pneumonia is referred to as Mr. Pneumonia and is someone whom the doctors do not like. "Mr. Pneumonia as not what you would call a chivalric old man." This use of personification allows the audience to understand the dangerous effects of pneumonia and that the illness will play a major role in the story. The author also displays the use of imagery throughout the short story. The author uses many descriptive words to enhance the setting of the story such as when describing pneumonia. "A mite of a little woman with blood thinned with California zephyrs was hardly a fair game for the red fisted, short breathed old duffer." This sentence allows the reader to visualize pneumonia and the setting. Another example is describing the ivy vine by stating, "The cold breath of autumn had stricken its leaves from the vine until its skeleton branches clung, almost bare, to the crumbling bricks." This leaves the reader with another vivid picture of a the scene. It places the reader in the story and allows them to understand the story more clearly. Through each of these rhetorical devices of personification and imagery, the audience is able to put themselves in the story and connect to the ideas of the story. They captivate the audience to create a warm and heartfelt short story that emphasizes the sacrifice of an old man for a sick girl.
I like that you pointed out specific examples from the text of the rhetorical devices that you discussed. I also think that your last sentence is a good sentence to wrap up what you discussed within the blog.
This short story greatly demonstrates the effect of self sacrifice as a symbol of love. Sue showed her love for Johnsy by sacrificing most of her time to take care of her. Sue wouldn't leave Johnsy by herself for very long, and she completed all of her work by Johnsy's bedside no matter how inconvenient it was for her. But Mr. Behrman's self sacrifice is also a big part of this story. The author, O'Henry, uses irony to demonstrate how Mr. Behrman uses self sacrifice as a symbol for love. At the first mention of this man, it seems as though he cares for these girls very much and would be willing to help them with anything. When Sue goes to visit Mr. Behrman, he is clearly upset at the condition of Johnsy, but he insults them and refuses to help Sue. However, at the end of the story, he is the one who helped Johnsy the most. It is ironic that he was so adamant on not helping Johnsy, yet he was the one to help her the most with his big, final masterpiece, before he himself passed away from the same illness from which she was suffering. The author of this story also appeals to pathos. The story almost doesn't seem to have a real plot until he inserts the character of Mr. Behrman. This, at first, causes the reader to be angry at him for his rudeness, but later, he appeals to the emotion of the reader by making Mr. Behrman the one to almost fix everything. Mr. Behrman, the seemingly rude character, prevails in the end to give everything he has to save the life of this girl who doesn't think she will live to see another day. As a reader, this definitely appealed to my emotions, and it gave a satisfying ending to a seemingly sad story.
I never thought of his death as ironic but I guess I can see that and I don't know how I missed it. You also used emotions and I think that just about everyone used it because it is a major part of the story.
The last leaf is a story that shows how giving of yourself can sometimes result in your own demise but at the same time can result in the success of another. A woman who is sick and going to die knows that when the last leaf falls on a plant that she will die along with it. The man that lives beneath her gets word of this and decides, because he is an artist, to paint a new plant that will never run out of leaves so that she won't die. In the process of doing this out in the cold he becomes sick and he dies as a result. O'Henry shows that self sacrifice is the best kind of love through rhetorical strategies. One strategy that he uses is his tone. The mood is set at the beginning with many descriptive adjectives and his sentences are set up like a love story. The lovey tone in the story helps him to set a mood for any story and have it be a great love tale. This helps to show the power of self sacrifice because that is what the story is about and the whole story is written in a soft and loving tone. Another strategy he uses is a large appeal to pathos. When the reader finds out that the man dies from sickness because of making his painting, they feel bad for him but they also noticed that it was out of the kindness of his heart. The reader also feels emotional when we discover that the woman is okay and no longer has a sickness and this makes us happy and also feel that the painting was made for a reason. The rhetorical strategies help show that self sacrifice, in this case a man traded his life so that another person would be able to keep fighting a sickness, is the best kind of love.
The Last Leaf is a short story that tells a tale of self sacrifice. A woman is thinks that when the last leaf falls off the vine outside her window, her life will end. Another man, who lived downstairs, was an artist. He decided to paint a vine outside of her window, so that the last leaf would never fall. On the cold, rainy night that he painted it, he fell ill with pneumonia, and shortly thereafter, he died. This short story showed that sacrificing for others is a true form of love. O'Henry used various rhetorical devices to help him convey his message. One of which was imagery. He used his diction to help paint a picture in his head of his audience. He is incredibly descriptive which allows the reader to visualize the story. Rather that saying that Johnsey was laying in bed, he said" Johnsey lay, scarcely making a ripple under the bedclothes, with her face toward the window." This added to the story because it makes it more interesting to read and much easier to flow along with. He also appeals to pathos. The story uses emotion to help prove that the best form of love is self sacrificial. The characters cry and feel emotions, which helps the reader relate more to the story. The reader also is aided by shifting syntax throughout the story which helps keep it interesting. He shifts between long and short sentences, and the dialogue goes from long, drawn out sentences, to short ones. Also, he uses different tones for each person. The reader can tell who is talking by the diction and tone of the speaker. Symbols are also used in the text as well. The ivy leaves symbolize hope, and each time one falls off, hope is lost, but when the artist paints one, it shows that there will always be hope through self sacrificial acts. Although this story was short, O'Henry used may different devices to help him get his point across.
ReplyDeleteThe imagery used by O'Henry was an important aspect of the story and you have many good examples of it. The different tones of each person was a great device to point out because it enhanced each character.
DeleteIt was very good to point out the different diction and tones for each character. I noticed it, but I did not think of how to interpret it as a rhetorical device within my blog. I also think that it is good that you discussed the descriptiveness of O'Henry's short story. These are very important things that add to the pathos of the story, which you also successfully pointed out.
DeleteI also used emotions as a strategy. His imagery was very effective and I think that it ties in with the adjective usage that I was talking about in my blog.
DeleteThe last leaf is a touching story of a girl who falls ill with pneumonia and believes that her life will end when the last leaf falls from the ivy vine outside her window. The story is one of sacrifice and love because an old man sacrificed himself for the ill girl by going out in the bitter cold and painting a leaf on the wall after the last leaf fell so it would never fall for the girl. He then contracted pneumonia and died in two days. He was also looking to paint an artistic masterpiece in his life; this was his masterpiece. O Henry used rhetorical devices to tell his great story. Among these were imagery and a great appeal to emotion through his diction. The imagery comes into play with the description of the characters and the setting. He descriptions made the reader almost feel as if they were within the story. "In November a cold, unseen stranger, whom the doctors called Pneumonia, stalked about the colony, touching one here and there with his icy fingers." In this quote the author is merely describing the coming of pneumonia and how it is causing widespread death, but he does it in a very descriptive way. Along with his marvelous imagery O Henry used was his appeal to emotion using his great diction. He appeals to emotion by the mood of the entire story, it is solemn but yet hopeful which appeals to the reader's sense of emotion. "Leaves. On the ivy vine. When the last one falls I must go, too." this makes the reader feel sadness but hope for what will actually happen. It is a technique of captivation and it is very effective. The story altogether is emotional and has a semi happy ending with the sick girl getting well and the old man dying in sacrifice for the young girl. A very well written story with a great message of love and sacrifice.
ReplyDeleteYour quotes really helped to elaborate on your blog. We had a lot of the same ideas. Good job.
DeleteI agree with Hannah that your usage of quotes helped to emphasize the ideas of your blog. Your explanation of the pathos used in the story was also well done.
DeleteThe Last leaf is a heart warming short story focusing on the ideal of self sacrifice. The story begins with two women named Johnsy and and Sue who are working together in an art studio. Johnsy catches pneumonia and put into the hospital. She believes that one the last leaf of the ivy vine falls to the ground, it will be her time to pass on. Sue talk to a man named Mr. Behrem, who is an artist. She conceived him to say out on the rain all night to paint an ivy vine with the last leaf hanging from it stem so that Johnsy will try to get better. Because of this Mr. Behrem passes away from pneumonia two days later.
ReplyDeleteThere are many rhetorical devices used throughout this piece including personification and imagery. In the fourth paragraph the author uses personification to describe the disease pneumonia. Pneumonia is referred to as Mr. Pneumonia and is someone whom the doctors do not like. "Mr. Pneumonia as not what you would call a chivalric old man." This use of personification allows the audience to understand the dangerous effects of pneumonia and that the illness will play a major role in the story. The author also displays the use of imagery throughout the short story. The author uses many descriptive words to enhance the setting of the story such as when describing pneumonia. "A mite of a little woman with blood thinned with California zephyrs was hardly a fair game for the red fisted, short breathed old duffer." This sentence allows the reader to visualize pneumonia and the setting. Another example is describing the ivy vine by stating, "The cold breath of autumn had stricken its leaves from the vine until its skeleton branches clung, almost bare, to the crumbling bricks." This leaves the reader with another vivid picture of a the scene. It places the reader in the story and allows them to understand the story more clearly. Through each of these rhetorical devices of personification and imagery, the audience is able to put themselves in the story and connect to the ideas of the story. They captivate the audience to create a warm and heartfelt short story that emphasizes the sacrifice of an old man for a sick girl.
I like that you pointed out specific examples from the text of the rhetorical devices that you discussed. I also think that your last sentence is a good sentence to wrap up what you discussed within the blog.
DeleteThis short story greatly demonstrates the effect of self sacrifice as a symbol of love. Sue showed her love for Johnsy by sacrificing most of her time to take care of her. Sue wouldn't leave Johnsy by herself for very long, and she completed all of her work by Johnsy's bedside no matter how inconvenient it was for her. But Mr. Behrman's self sacrifice is also a big part of this story. The author, O'Henry, uses irony to demonstrate how Mr. Behrman uses self sacrifice as a symbol for love. At the first mention of this man, it seems as though he cares for these girls very much and would be willing to help them with anything. When Sue goes to visit Mr. Behrman, he is clearly upset at the condition of Johnsy, but he insults them and refuses to help Sue. However, at the end of the story, he is the one who helped Johnsy the most. It is ironic that he was so adamant on not helping Johnsy, yet he was the one to help her the most with his big, final masterpiece, before he himself passed away from the same illness from which she was suffering. The author of this story also appeals to pathos. The story almost doesn't seem to have a real plot until he inserts the character of Mr. Behrman. This, at first, causes the reader to be angry at him for his rudeness, but later, he appeals to the emotion of the reader by making Mr. Behrman the one to almost fix everything. Mr. Behrman, the seemingly rude character, prevails in the end to give everything he has to save the life of this girl who doesn't think she will live to see another day. As a reader, this definitely appealed to my emotions, and it gave a satisfying ending to a seemingly sad story.
ReplyDeleteI never thought of his death as ironic but I guess I can see that and I don't know how I missed it. You also used emotions and I think that just about everyone used it because it is a major part of the story.
DeleteI never thought of irony either, but it does seem as though it is ironic.
DeleteThe last leaf is a story that shows how giving of yourself can sometimes result in your own demise but at the same time can result in the success of another. A woman who is sick and going to die knows that when the last leaf falls on a plant that she will die along with it. The man that lives beneath her gets word of this and decides, because he is an artist, to paint a new plant that will never run out of leaves so that she won't die. In the process of doing this out in the cold he becomes sick and he dies as a result. O'Henry shows that self sacrifice is the best kind of love through rhetorical strategies. One strategy that he uses is his tone. The mood is set at the beginning with many descriptive adjectives and his sentences are set up like a love story. The lovey tone in the story helps him to set a mood for any story and have it be a great love tale. This helps to show the power of self sacrifice because that is what the story is about and the whole story is written in a soft and loving tone. Another strategy he uses is a large appeal to pathos. When the reader finds out that the man dies from sickness because of making his painting, they feel bad for him but they also noticed that it was out of the kindness of his heart. The reader also feels emotional when we discover that the woman is okay and no longer has a sickness and this makes us happy and also feel that the painting was made for a reason. The rhetorical strategies help show that self sacrifice, in this case a man traded his life so that another person would be able to keep fighting a sickness, is the best kind of love.
ReplyDelete