Importance of the last leaf in O. Henry's short story "The Last Leaf" and the title of the story.

Introduction :  "The Last Leaf" is a short story written by O.Henry,the noted and famous story writer in America. O.Henry is the pseudonym  of William Sydney Porter. This great literary master has written a short  story on the last leaf of an Ivy vine and has named  his story as  "The Last Leaf". The last leaf in this story is not an ordinary one as it bears much significance. The story of the last leaf makes durable and strong impression on the mind of all sorts of readers. Let us take a look on the subject matter of the story "The Last Leaf".

Story in brief : The plot of the story revolves round the three main characters : Johnsy and Sue, two  young artists and Berhman,the old one.They all lived in a "squatty three-story brick" building at Greenwich village where the poor artists generally settled. Johnsy and Sue started a joint studio. Berhman ,a man of past sixty,lived on the ground floor. This apparently unsuccessful artist loved these two young artists very much and also protected them like a guardian. 

     Pneumonia attacked severely Johnsy who lay helplessly with a strange premonition of her impending death. She could see from her bed an old  decaying ivy vine on the rough brick  wall which was distinctly seen through the window, just few feet opposite. It was raining  incessantly augmented with hard storm and consequently the leaves of that vine were dropping down one after another. This decaying of the leaves is somehow affected the weak mind of Johnsy who began to fancy that she must die with the falling of the last leaf of that ivy vine.  Johnsy lost all sorts of interest of life and living and started counting the leaves backward. Doctor of physic who visited Johnsy declared that she might survive if she could regain the interest of living. Strangely enough, in spite of fierce gusts of wind during whole night the last leaf of that  vine was hanging bravely on its position. Another strange thing happened - Johnsy got back the love and passion for life and living, she realized her mistake and admitted that " It is a sin to want to die." Johnsy recovered from her illness, vivified herself and the aspiration for painting 'the Bay of Naples' came back to her again.

Discussion : Such is the story of the last leaf and this story appears to be an improbable one. The matter of the last leaf may not come in the centre of such grave discussion. The question 'why is the last leaf so important' may arise. There is a story behind this story and the hero of this story is none other than the seemingly failure old artist Berhman. The last leaf of the ivy vine could not stand the might of the rain and storm of that ghastly night, it fell like the other ones. The old artist Berhman, defying the inclement and adverse wintry weather and at the cost of his life, painted a same leaf on the wet wall. He had to face the consequences of it. This old  artist caught severe cold , could not avoid pneumonia as well as death. 

      It is known from the story that Berhman is trying to paint his masterpiece for twenty five years and for it  the canvass, the colour and the brush are kept ready. Is is not  Berhman's masterpiece. The last leaf painted by Berhman is no doubt his masterpiece. The last leaf declares the triumph of the old artist and his devotion to art. The last leaf servers as the cure-all as it saves the life of Johnsy. One thing I can not help mentioning that the last leaf has taken the life of another artist, the life of Berhman.  

       The last leaf at once manifests may things. It proves that art has the life saving power, art can vivify the dying artist. It is the proof of the sacrifice of an artist as it brings the message that an artist can even bet his life to save the life of another artist. We get the maxim from the last leaf that a true artist cares little for his life for the sake of art. 

    The last leaf remains at the centre of the story. The dramatic tension is created with the last leaf and the tension is also resolved with the last leaf. The last leaf shapes the theme of the story , steers it towards the completeness and ultimately sponsors the very lesson of the story. The subject matter and the theme of the story revolves round these two words "last leaf ". In a word, the "last leaf " forms the key-note of the story. So, The Last Leaf is definitely the most befitting and appropriate title for this story of O. Henry.

"The Kite" - A Short Story of Sommerset Maugham - Discussion on different aspects of the story.

The Freudian concept :  Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939 ) , an Austrian psychoanalyst, studied the human mind minutely, researched many finer aspect of human  psyche and developed a theory which is directly or indirectly related to the unconscious mind of human beings and its nature. Freud identified three components of human mind : the 'id', the 'ego' and the 'super ego'. Let us discuss about the different level of  human psyche.

    

      What is the 'id' of human psyche ?  'id' is , Freud says, a part of human psyche which is predominantly unconscious and irrational level of the mind.This level is passionate and unknown. 'id'  may be said the innate  instinctive impulse. The 'ego' , on the other hand, is conscious and rational level of mind. It is predominantly logical and orderly.The part of human psyche which internalizes the norms and mores of society is called, according to Freud, the 'super ego'. The 'ego' is in the middle position of the 'id'  and the 'super ego'. The social norms and mores  are the external elements as they are the factors of outside the self. Our moral judgement or the in-built self-check mechanism guides us and tells us to make sacrifice even at the cost of our interest. The 'super ego'  functions as our moral guardian. 

        Sigmund Freud says about the "repressed wishes and fears" of  human mind which are pushed under the surface of the mind  by the  'super ego' and further pushed by the 'ego' to  the unconscious level or the realm of the 'id' where the repressed emotions lay dormant.

Dream is the manifestation of these repressions.

Freudian complication in "The Kite" : In the introductory part of the story the writer Sommerset Maugham says : " Of course  the first thing that occurs to me is that there is something Freudian about it". The strange obstinacy of Herbert,the protagonist of the story, is meant here. Herbert has absolutely refused to pay alimony to his wife as she has broken his kite.  He is such a hard nut to crack that he would rather "stay in jail all his life rather than pay her a penny". The matter of 'repressed desires' in the mind of Herbert comes here. The kite may be regarded as an unimportant thing by the ordinary people. But in the mind of Herbert it is not merely a flying aid, the kite has become a thing of paramount importance to him. Actually the kite-flying has become a passion to Herbert. It is not merely a game, not a means of entertainment to him. The kite and kite-flying have pervaded all of his mind and for it he thinks and plans about this thing the whole day long.When the kite is seen soaring towards the cloud, he may gain a sense of power from it. In writer's word : "It may be that in some queer way he identifies  himself with the kite-flying so free and so high above him." From the movements of the kite Herbert feels a sense of escape from the monotony of his life. He finds freedom in kite-flying, he enjoys adventure in it. All these thinking are not exposed , these lay 'repressed'  in his mind. These 'repressed desires' conforms with the 'Freudian concept' which inspires one for the psychoanalytical study of this essay, "The Kite".      

           The domestic rue separates Herbert from his mother and he takes a rented house to start a new life with his wife Betty Baven . Is that a separation in the true sense of the term? Of course not. He leaves his house and parents physically but his mind says another thing which is proved within few days when he starts coming to the Common , not as a kite-flyer but as merely viewer. At least two strong desires go with Herbert repressed in his mind. These are his unalloyed love for his parents, particularly for his mother Mrs. Sunbury  and the unquestionable attraction for kite-flying. The element namely  'super ego' compels him to obey the societal norms and mores and his moral judgement instructs him to keep arms length from his mother , though he has to tolerate the mental torture which he feels well.   

            According to Freud the 'super ego' pushes the 'repressed wishes or desires'  under the surface of the mind and this region is known as the 'ego' level which is conscious,rational,  orderly and logical level. The 'ego' further pushes the 'repressed desire' to the unconscious and irrational level of mind known as the 'id' level where it waits dormant to be prominent as a dream in future date.  Here in the case of Herbert the 'suppressed desires' is not pushed to the 'id' level, it takes a halt in the 'ego' level . As this a conscious and rational level of mind the matter of suppression gradually recedes and a reconciliation between Herbert and his mother Mrs. Sunbury become possible after a short gap of time.  

Labels : Short Story

       

      

       

      

Malgudi Days : R.K.Narayan : The secret of the friendship in the short story entitled “Leela’s Friend” and the story in brief.

 

Introduction: 

‘Malgudi Days’  is the title of a short story collection written by  R.K.Narayan. Where is Malgudi ? The writer himself says that it is imaginary and not to be found in any map. Malgudi is not a small town in North India, it is found in different  parts of the world as the characteristic of Malgudi seems universal. However, Malgudi is town having some landmarks which recur in different short stories and novel of  R.K.Narayan. “Leela’s Friend” is a short story concerning with a very common subject matter of our day to day life.

 

The story in brief : 

Mr. Sivasanker, the representative of  South Indian typical middle class family, is thinking about the servant problem standing on the veranda . Sidda appears suddenly as God-sent and offers to be the servant. He is now jobless as his former master, a doctor, has left the town. Mr. Sivasanker calls his wife for taking decision and they delay a bit to finalise Sidda’s assignment. Meanwhile,  Leela, five-year-old girl of  Mr. Sivasanker comes out , looks at Sidda and declares her choice. Sidda’s  job as servant in Mr. Sivasanker’s house is now confirmed by Leela’s request. Two meals a day and four rupees a month Sidda would get as remuneration for household chores, washing clothes, gardening and looking after Leela.

Whenever Leela would cry : “Sidda, come and paly.”, the latter leaves the work at hand and responds  to the little madam. They play throwing ball, Sidda throws the ball into the sky as Leela commands. Sidda changes the place and proves  that the moon knows Sidda as the moon also changes its place  following  them. Sidda says : “I have asked it to follow us about”. Leela acts as a teacher and teaches the old student Sidda. After dinner when Leela is on her bed , Sidda sits on the floor near the bed and says incomparable stories about animals in forest, gods in heaven and strange magicians . Sidda gradually becomes a good friend of this little girl who spends most of her time with this servant .

One day Leela goes with Sidda for fetching some sugar from a shop. After their returning it is found that Leela’s gold necklace is missing. All responsibility of this missing seems to go to Sidda who  is rebuffed  and threatened of police. Sidda becomes mute like an animal and leaves the house stealthily .  Mr. Sivasanker informs the police who captures Sidda from his haunt few days later. When Sidda is brought in Mr. Sivasanker’s home, Leela, seeing his old best friend , becomes glad measurelessly .She does know the meaning of  thief  and stealing and  also the value of a gold necklace. Sidda, who declares that he has not taken the necklace, is silent and embarrassed for the abuse hurled towards him by the police. Ultimately, he  is taken to the police custody. Leela  becomes desperate and cries bitterly. Few days later, the  gold chain is found in the tamarind pot in the kitchen. The Police Inspector will be informed tomorrow but no Sidda again. Here ends the story.  

 

The secret of friendship between Leela and Sidda :

A good friend is a rare gift, as if, a gift from heaven. To become a true friend of a child is not very easy and it requires some perfect soft skill. It is a relationship of mutual affection and intense attachment. The basis of friendship between Leela and Sidda is obviously not sociological, it is out and out mental or psychological. A child is the denizen of the land of innocence. Leela’s mind naturally searches a mate of the same field which is fulfilled by Sidda who is endowed with innocence like a child. A child of five like Leela knows nothing about honesty, loyalty, sympathy, responsibility, dutifulness and the like qualities which help in developing friendship. She knows only love and affection of Sidda, she gets his company whenever and wherever she demands. On the other hand, Sidda knows how to become the friend of a child , a girl like Leela. He has developed a mutual understanding and he equally enjoys Leela’s company which is not possible by the acting of a servant. Sidda is gifted with some soft skills by which he can study Leela’s mind, can understand Leela’s necessity, can realize Leela’s feeling and can cater Leela’s demand. It may not be termed as trust but reliability that Leela finds in Sidda and she easily puts herself in the care of this person Sidda coming from outside of her house.

Is Sidda trained in nursery matters ? There is no mention of it in the story, he is merely a servant who works for two square meals. Actually, Sidda’s company anyhow makes Leela supremely happy. He takes Leela to some wonderland and plays with her in the field of imagination. He throws the ball up and when it comes down, he says that the ball touches the moon and a part of moon is sticking on the ball. When Leela enquires it he intelligently says that it evaporates very soon and goes back to the moon. Sidda firmly says that the moon know him and then plays the trick which is applied by the adults before the children in all times. Now he stands with Leela near the rose plant and the moon is here, now he takes Leela to the backyard and the moon is there. Leela claps her hands and cries in wonder. Actually, the basis of friendship between Leela and Sidda is the mutual enjoyment through continuous attachment and  mutual love built from unalloyed innocence.  The credit of this friendship is not only of Sidda, Leela is equally endowed with this soft skill at such little age and fifty percent of the credit goes to her. All children are not equally gifted with same good qualities. Sidda offers himself to be good friend and it is Leela who acknowledges him as a good one with her own affable and genial nature.