Loss In Gwilan's Harp, And The Last Leaf

The Inescapable Theme

Gwilan’s Harp by Ursula K. LeGuin, The Washwoman by Isaac Singer, and The Last Leaf by O. Henry, each portray a theme of loss. These three short stories include characters that experience unfortunate tragedies that they must overcome. For example, Gwilan’s Harp involves the loss of a beloved husband. Additionally, in The Washwoman, a death of a hardworking woman occurs. Likewise, in The Last Leaf, a man passed on to save another life. Therefore, important morals and losses are represented in the short stories, Gwilan’s Harp, The Washwoman, and The Last Leaf.

Primarily, in Gwilan’s Harp, Gwilan, a young girl with a prosperous talent for harp playing, broke the precious instrument that was passed down for generations. This tragic incident, however, led Gwilan

A family had a washwoman who performed her job exceedingly well. The woman, around the age of seventy, endured walking through treacherous storms and blizzards in order to collect or return the wash loads and hours of cleaning the clothes. Unfortunately, one day she passed on, with no compensation for her hard work. Also, the old woman’s son had abandoned her. “He was ashamed of his mother, the washwoman, and never came to see her,” (Singer). Therefore, The Washwoman also represents

Loss appears in Gwilan’s Harp, The Washwoman, and The Last Leaf. In Gwilan’s Harp, Gwilan suffers from the loss of her precious instrument and Torm’s passing. Similarly, in The Washwoman, an old lady passes away, after working very hard throughout her lifetime. Finally, in The Last Leaf, an old man, loses his life, to give a girl hope to live. These three stories contain a valuable moral that the authors demonstrate. An individual can never escape a world of loss, as it occurs frequently, but one must not hate the world; for it has a plan for