Loss In The Last Leaf

Judith Butler speaks of the reasons for people to mourn; she states that each person associates themselves to others. Through this association, people become part of a theoretical unit, as Butler refers to it, a “we”. It is because of this “we” that through losing another you are by association losing part of yourself. Butler speaks of mourning as the acceptance that one will change due to this loss, perhaps on an indefinite

Marisa Silver’s collection, Babe in Paradise, is a theme of loss located in Los Angeles. In the collection, every character copes with loss in various scenarios. What defines the term loss in Silver’s work? A central theme in Babe in Paradise, involves losing a family member. However, many characters deal with loss in their version, which comprises of hope, pride, mental state, and reality. After loss, an individual’s personality can change either in a positive or negative forefront, this is shown heavily in Babe in Paradise. Silver’s collection demonstrates how severely a tragedy affects the character, not as an individual, but how their loss affects the people around them.

A poem which explores the feeling of loss is ‘Visiting Hour’ by Norman MacCaig. In this powerful and moving poem, the writer uses techniques such as imagery, symbolism and word choice to effectively grip the reader and keeps them with him throughout the poem.

Opening into the story, Collier uses mood to help the reader focus on the climax. The mood of the story starts out quite dim, dreary, and depressed. The narrator explains how she believes that God wasn’t accommodating and didn’t provide for them in the beginning of the story. Lizabeth says, “But God was chary with miracles those days, and so we waited- and waited.”(Collier 76). Readers learn from this how the narrator was agitated and didn’t believe that it was fair that they were suffering. She believed that God should be merciful and grant them some miracles. However, downstream in the story, Miss Lottie’s marigolds are beautiful and stunning, which is in opposition the mood from the beginning of the story. The whole story doesn’t have a despondent mood. The narrator continues with, “Beyond the dusty brown yard, in front of the sorry gray house, rose suddenly and shockingly a dazzling strip of bright blossoms, clumped together in enormous mounds, warm and passionate and sun golden.”(Collier 79). This advances the idea of a silver lining in a rotten time. Unfortunately, approaching the end of the story, the mood takes a somber and mournful turn again. After Lizabeth gets caught disfiguring the flowers by Miss Lottie, Lizabeth feels shame, regret, and sorrow,

Loss can mean something very different, depending on who you ask to define it and what their history is with it. However difficult the obstacle may be, Tim O’Brien’s words can help alleviate someone’s conscious, because he points out the importance of all those stories lived with that certain person or thing that was lost. Even with my personal losses, I can relate to O’Brien’s views of loss and the importance of all the memories of the lost thing. Loss would not be so impactful if it weren’t for all those sentimental memories and emotions that come with it. It’s necessary to sometimes remember the happy times lived before the loss, to slowly fill up the hole that it created in the heart. It’s true, losing something is rarely anything to be happy about, but if anyone has something that makes saying goodbye hard, they would be considered

The short stories “Gwilan’s Harp” written by Ursula K. LeGuin, “The Washwoman” by Isaac Singer, and “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry all show the loss of something valuable, as a theme. Each of the characters in the stories experience loss of something special to them, such as, the loss of an harp, the loss of a caring son, and the unforeseen loss of a friend. In “Gwilan’s Harp” a young harpist named Gwilan has an irreplaceable flawless harp. Unfortunately the harp gets crushed, and Gwilan’s struggles with the loss of her most prized possession. In Isaac Singer’s “The Washwoman” the elderly washwoman tells the Jewish family which employed her, about the loss of her adult son, not by death, but by embarrassment of her profession. Lastly, in “The

Grief is a powerful thing. It can consume someone and spit them back out without a second thought. A person can be absolutely devoured by this unsavory beast, and once you’ve encountered it, no matter how much time has passed, you never truly escape the beast. And said beast can make you become a totally different person entirely. The song “Again” by Crusher-P and the short story “All Summer in a Day” by Ray Bradbury both touch on the power of grief and what it does to the person and the people around them.

“Gwilan’s Harp” by Ursula K. LeGuin”, “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry”, and “The Washwoman” by Isaac Singer— each tells the story of an individual who experiences loss in their life. “. “Gwilan’s Harp” tells of a young musician who first suffered the loss of her valued instrument, before falling under other hardships. “The Last Leaf” relays the story of an old painter who longs to make a beautiful masterpiece, yet suffers under his own inaction. Finally, “The Washwomen” tells the tail of an old washwoman who toils tirelessly despite the loss of her youth. While having loss in common, these three individuals each react differently to their burdens.

Loss happens everyday in people's lives, whether it be a life, home. Pet, or object. Loss affects everyone in

“Everyone can master grief but he that has it.” This quote, written by William Shakespeare, demonstrates that people often struggle loss, most often losing friends or valuable possessions. Loss can be a powerful thing that can control people, but it can also help people learn indispensable lessons. It changed and deeply affected numerous characters in “Gwilan’s Harp,” by Ursula K. Le Guin, “The Washwoman,” by Isaac Bashevis Singer, and “The Last Leaf,” by O. Henry. It affected many, if not all, of the characters’ choices. Each character reacted in a different way. They also all learned a lesson from their loss. It changed them and grew them, encouraging them to become a better person. Loss is an important theme in “Gwilan’s Harp,” “The Washwoman,” and “The Last Leaf.”

The Last Leaf happens during a time in history were pneumonia killed many. A Girl name Johnsie happened to get sick and gave up at life. “Leaves. On the ivy vine. When then last one falls, I must go too.” Johnsie planned to die when the last leaf falls. That night one leaf remained Johnsie went to sleep and her friend went away. Sue went to an artist’s place and told him about Johnsie and then asked him to pose for her assignment. The man rude fully declined. The man thought about how Johnsie had given up at life and believed she would die when a leaf falls. The man decided to paint a leaf in its place. The man painted the leaf which caused Johnsie to believe it was real. She got well but the man got very sick and passed away very quickly. The lesson Johnsie learned was never give up on life because it always has something in store.

Behrman, although initially self-absorbed, eventually serves others when faced with loss. In response to his failures as an artist, Mr. Behrman chooses to stay perpetually drunk. He flounders in his disappointments. However, Mr. Behrman becomes an unlikely hero when his ill neighbor, Johnsy, decides she will die when the last leaf falls from the ivy vine outside her window. Concern for the young woman causes Mr. Behrman to rise above his disappointments, and taking pity on her he says, “Ach, dot poor leetle Miss Yohnsy” (O. Henry).

It Doesn’t matter if the short story was based on true events or not. When its written about death or losing loved ones, it always reminds you of the people that were so close at once and then gone forever. Many people all over the world deal with their feelings of losing someone. So people cry, and some keep the emotions in and let it burn inside. “A Few Things Wrong with Me” by Lydia Davis and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and “Harvey’s Dream” by Stephen King are three examples of how character’s have lost their loved ones in a different way. Some were killed and some were faded away. It also shows unhappy & happy relationships. Two of the three books also have a comparison of people that have problems in their life or forced to be in a problem. These three short stories are written from different authors perspective and have difficult plots but there is one thing that gathers them together, it is the despair that was left in their souls by the loved ones. In these three short stories a person dies or has left someone forever, but all in different aspects. Loosing a person that had a spot in your life isn’t an easy thing to forget but also leaves a mark in your heart forever. Two the three books also have a comparison of people that have problems in life or forced to be in a problem

In the poems you have studied a recurring theme is that of ‘loss’. This can take many forms: death; identity; hope or loss of innocence

By examining the poetic devices and how Whitman uses them to heighten the sense of death and different facets of grief it becomes obvious that while both poems intimately explore death, grief, and morbidity, When Lilacs last in the Dooryard Bloom'd presents a more generalized, transcendental, mournful representation of grief, the poem Out of the Cradle Endlessly rocking confronts the reader with the stark pain and reality of death