The stories, “Gwilan’s Harp” by Ursula K. LeGuin, “The Washwoman” by Isaac Singer, and “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry all have a main theme of loss. Each character experiences some form of loss, death, or heartbreak. Gwilan loses her most prized possession, the Singer family loses their washwoman to a brutal illness, and the characters in “The Last Leaf unexpectedly lose Mr. Behrman. These stories clearly display three characters that go through a tough time, and it shows how they act before, and how it affects them after. The authors portray three different situations that all have the same theme, but each character deals with each loss very differently.
In the first story, Gwilan lives a life packed full of sorrow, and heartbreak. Her mother …show more content…
It tells a story about a washwoman who never slacks on her work, and always returns the laundry to the Singer family. This job requires a lot of hard work, and dedication, but the Singer's like her because she never fails at this job. One day the washwoman never returned with their laundry, because she had become extremely sick. She eventually returned her last load of laundry. The family had to deal with the heartbreak of losing their faithful washwoman. “I cannot imagine a life without this Gentile washwoman.” (Singer) Unlike Gwilan's harp, the Singer's entire lives did not consume of heartbreak, but when the washwoman died it altered the rest of their …show more content…
Although the loss in this story comes in a very unexpected form. Pneumonia slowly takes the life from Johnsy, and Sue, her best friend, tries to figure out a way to save her. Johnsy says when the last leaf on the tree outside her window falls, she will die. “Think of me, if you won't think of yourself. What would I do?” (Henry) Sue hires an old painter to paint a leaf onto the tree so Johnsy thinks it has never fallen. Mr. Behrman paints all through the cold night, and as a result dies. He sacrificed his life to allow Johnsy to live. This shows the readers sacrificial love, but also how good can come out of the loss. The death of Mr. Behrman saddens Johnsy and Sue, but this death allows Johnsy to live, and this causes the women to focus on the good in the
In the first story, Gwilan lives a life packed full of sorrow, and heartbreak. Her mother …show more content…
It tells a story about a washwoman who never slacks on her work, and always returns the laundry to the Singer family. This job requires a lot of hard work, and dedication, but the Singer's like her because she never fails at this job. One day the washwoman never returned with their laundry, because she had become extremely sick. She eventually returned her last load of laundry. The family had to deal with the heartbreak of losing their faithful washwoman. “I cannot imagine a life without this Gentile washwoman.” (Singer) Unlike Gwilan's harp, the Singer's entire lives did not consume of heartbreak, but when the washwoman died it altered the rest of their …show more content…
Although the loss in this story comes in a very unexpected form. Pneumonia slowly takes the life from Johnsy, and Sue, her best friend, tries to figure out a way to save her. Johnsy says when the last leaf on the tree outside her window falls, she will die. “Think of me, if you won't think of yourself. What would I do?” (Henry) Sue hires an old painter to paint a leaf onto the tree so Johnsy thinks it has never fallen. Mr. Behrman paints all through the cold night, and as a result dies. He sacrificed his life to allow Johnsy to live. This shows the readers sacrificial love, but also how good can come out of the loss. The death of Mr. Behrman saddens Johnsy and Sue, but this death allows Johnsy to live, and this causes the women to focus on the good in the