Loss In Gwilan's Harp, And The Last Leaf

In the short stories “Gwilan’s Harp” by Ursula K. LeGuin, “The Washwoman” by Isaac Singer, and “The Last Leaf” each character experiences loss. Either by losing a loved one or losing something dear to their hearts. In “Gwilian’s Harp”, Gwilians beloved husband dies which crushes his wife heart but the story ends with a redemption theme. In “The Washwoman,” the washwoman also died which results in the sadness of many families whom loved the washwoman. Yet the death of the dedicated woman impacted many lived and made the characters strive to be better. And lastly, in “The Last Leaf” Old Behrman perishes in pursuit of trying to give Johnsy hope. In the end each loss in these stories end with a redemption theme in some way.

Firstly, an extremely talented harpist, Gwilan, experiences losing the two most important things in her life. In the beginning of the story Gwilan is a victim of a cart crash where she not only breaks her wrist but her harp also breaks into many pieces. This causes the young harpist great distress and sadness witnessing the only thing she really cared about gone within seconds. In addition, her broken wrist …show more content…
From inanimate objects, to a beloved character, to a not so beloved character. Yet each of these losses teach the readers and a character something. In “Gwilians Harp” although the loss of Torm is heartbreaking for Gwilian the author ends the story with a redemption which is portrayed when Gwilian uses one of the hardest interments and that is her voice. Moreover, when the way the washwoman died effects many people’s lives making them strive to work harder and be more like her. Lastly, in “The Last Leaf” Behrman dies trying to restore Johnsy’s hope while sacrificing his life. This also effects many of the character’s along with the readers. Each of these short stories portray the difficulties of life but also how good can come out of something that just seems