"The Last Leaf" is a 1906 short story by O. Henry. "The Last Leaf" takes place in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City, which is home to communities of artists and freethinkers. The flawed, everyday heroes and humble acts of grace that define an O. Henry story are on display in "The Last Leaf", as is the author's signature ironic twist ending that provides an instructive moral lesson about the unlikely best of humanity and value of hope and faith. "The Last Leaf" explores themes such community, art, and tradition.
CHAPTER I
STATESMEN OF OUR CRITICAL PERIOD
I came to consciousness in the then small town of
Buffalo in western New York, whither, in Andrew Jackson’s
day, our household gods and goods were conv...
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The Last Leaf