Point of View

The unseen, unknown and all-knowing narrator of “The last Leaf” is typical of O. Henry’s short stories. The authority with which the narrative voice describes local history and geography, personal biography and detailed insights into characters’ motivations and inner lives creates a self-conscious effect by which the narrator conveys to the reader the fabulous nature of the tale in a folksy, conversational style. For example, the narrator betrays an intimacy with the details of Greenwich Village’s discovery by artists, such as the “pewter mugs and chafing dishes” (198) the early settlers brought as a signal that they were there to stay. Similarly, the narrator who speaks so omnisciently about the former generations of Village artists also gives the reader direct access into Sue and Johnsy’s private moments, as if privy to their “congenial” (198) conversation at Delmonico’s restaurant from which their current living...