Themes In Gwilan's Harp, And The Last Leaf

In the stories “Gwilan’s Harp” by Ursula K. LeGuin, “The Washwoman” by Isaac Singer, and “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry, the characters experience great loss. Each of these stories’ most tragic moment happens when an important character dies. “Gwilan’s Harp” portrays the loss of Torm, Gwilan’s husband; however, the author creates redemption at the conclusion. The touching washwoman’s demise in “The Washwoman,” though heartbreaking, reveals an excellent moral lesson. Lastly, “The Last Leaf” not only includes good applicable themes, but also the unpredictable fatality of Behrman, of whom no one thinks very highly and yet has a great effect on the reader. Overall, these authors achieve their goals of teaching ethical principles through stories

Even so, this short story, too, sets misfortune as one of its themes. A Gentile washwoman, the main character, enters the life of a Jewish family and shows strength when she faces difficult circumstances. “Only God knows all the old woman had to endure each time she did a wash!...The old woman did not want to become a burden, and so she bore her burden” (Singer). This washwoman perseveres through trials, and when her health dwindles, she manages to faithfully return all the laundry before she passes away. All the Jewish families she launders for gain a solid friendship from her in spite of their religious

Henry, Johnsy, a young painter, grows ill with pneumonia. Thinking her final days draw near, she begins to count down the leaves on the ivory vine outside her window. When the last one falls, she believes she, too, will fall. While Sue, a good friend, cannot find a way to dissuade Johnsy’s silly idea, the gruff neighbor holds the key. Despite the fact others think of him as old and drunk, Behrman foretells a coming masterpiece of his. “The last ivy leaf...never fluttered or moved...[because of] Behrman’s masterpiece – he painted it there the night that the last leaf fell” (Henry). Later, Behrman died of pneumonia since he created his masterpiece in the icy rain, but his death saved Johnsy and demonstrated his true, caring, and sacrificial