Summary

In “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry, Sue and Johnsy are two female artists sharing an art studio in Greenwich Village in New York. In autumn, pneumonia takes over Greenwich Village, and Johnsy falls prey to the disease. She is very sick, and the doctor only gives her one chance in ten of recovery. The doctor encourages Sue to help Johnsy find a reason to live and carry on her work, and Sue remembers that Johnsy’s wish is to paint the Bay of Naples.

As Sue arranges her drawing tools in Johnsy’s room, she hears the young woman counting backwards. Johnsy reveals that she is counting the leaves from an old ivy vine which climbs the brick wall outside her window. She is convinced that, once the last leaf falls, she will also die. Sue is desperate and makes Johnsy promise that she will not look out the...