Global Reading >> Scanning

Scan Text A and find out other clues besides “the last ivy leaf”, which help organize the story into a whole.

Clue 1:  the last leaf

Clue 2:  the doctor’s three visits

Clue 3:  soup

Clue 4:  the Bay of Naples

Clue 5:  Behrman’s masterpiece

the doctor’s three visits

1. Johnsy was seriously ill. (Paras. 3~8)

2. Johnsy had a 50-50 chance for survival and death while Old Behrman was incurably sick. (Paras. 34~36)

3. Johnsy was sure to recover. (Para. 37)

soup

1. Johnsy refused to take any soup when she decided to die with the fall of the last leaf. (Para. 16)

2. When she was shaken alive again by that undying last leaf, one of her first desires was to drink some soup. (Para. 31)

the Bay of Naples

1. Before she fell ill, Johnsy had wished to paint the Bay of Naples. (Para. 5)

2. Inspired by the last leaf, Johnsy again looked forward to painting it. (Para. 33)

Behrman’s masterpiece

1. Old Behrman was a failure in art. He had always talked about a masterpiece, yet he was unable to deliver it. (Para. 18)

2. “Someday I will paint a masterpiece, and we shall all go away.” (Para. 20)

3. Finally, Old Behrman painted his masterpiece at the cost of his life. (Para. 39)

Global Reading >> Further Understanding

I. Story Telling

Suppose you are Sue, tell us in the first person a story which may cover the following points:

1. How did Johnsy and you meet.

2. How did she get ill.

3. What did the doctor tell you about Johnsy’s illness.

II. Dialogue Making

Make a dialogue between Sue and Behrman according to the sentence “She told him of Johnsy’s fancy, and how she feared she would, indeed, light and fragile as a leaf herself, float away, when her slight hold upon the world grew weaker” in Paragraph 19.

III. Discussion

1. What encouraged Johnsy to regain the will to live and how?

2. According to you, how would Johnsy react after realizing what Mr. Behrman had done for her?