The Last Leaf | Questions
1. What dreadful illness did Johnsy suffer from?
Ans. Johnsy suffered from a dreadful illness called pneumonia.
2. What did the doctor tell Sue about Johnsy?
Ans. Sue looked after Johnsy well, but Johnsy showed no signs of improvement. One day, the doctor told Sue that Johnsy had one chance in ten. He also told her that medicines alone would not help the Johnsy if she did not wish to live. She had made up her mind that she was not going to get well. So her condition was not improving.
3. Describe the ivy vine outside the window.
Ans. The ivy vine outside the window was old and decayed at the roots. It climbed half way up the brick wall. The autumn was cold so it had taken away most of the leaves. Only the skeleton branches were left, clinging to the bricks.
4. What false belief did Johnsy have about the ivy vine?
Ans. Johnsy had a false belief that she would die when the last leaf of the ivy tree would fall. She related her death to the falling leaves of ivy tree.
5. Who was Behrman? Why did Sue call him to their flat?
Ans. Behrman promised to paint a masterpiece someday.
7. What happened that night and what did the two friends see when the window was open?
Ans. There was rain and the fierce wind but the last ivy leaf remained on the vine. It was still dark green near its stem with edges tinted yellow, bravely hanging from a branch some twenty feet above the ground.
8. What did Johnsy declare when she saw the last ivy leaf?
Ans. When Johnsy saw the last ivy leaf she said that it would fall that same day and that she would die at the same time.
9. What change came over Johnsy the next day? Why?
Ans. Johnsy saw that the last leaf on the ivy plant had not fallen, though the wind raged and rain poured. This made her confident that she was not going to die and hoped to paint Bay of Naples someday soon.
10. What happened to Mr. Behrman?
Ans. Mr. Behrman was diagnosed with pneumonia. The sweeper had found him lying helpless in his room wearing very wet clothes and shoes. Some scattered brushes and a palette with green and yellow colours mixed on it were lying besides him. Mr. Behrman was taken to the hospital where two days later he died.
11. Who had saved Johnsy’s life and how?
Ans. Old Behrman had saved Johnsy’s life. He painted an ivy leaf on the brick wall. The leaf made Johnsy confident that she was going to live. If the leaf could survive the odds, then she could surely fight the dreadful disease. This hope saved Johnsy’s life.
12. Where was the colony situated?
Ans. The colony was situated in the poorer parts of New York.
13. Who lived in the colony?
Ans. Many struggling artists lived in that colony.
14. What was Johnsy preparing herself?
Ans. Johnsy was prepared herself for the last journey that one makes alone.
15. What is a sin according to Johnsy?
Ans. According to Johnsy it was a sin to want to die.
16. What did Johnsy wish to paint after surviving?
Ans. Johnsy wished to paint the Bay of Naples after surviving her illness.
17. What was Bahrman’s masterpiece?
Ans. Behrman’s masterpiece was the last ivy leaf he painted that night when the last leaf had fallen.
