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Question
What is Behrman’s masterpiece? What makes Sue say so?
Solution
Behrman’s masterpiece was the painting of a leaf. It was the last leaf left on the creeper. Sue told Johnsy that Behrman had died of pneumonia. He was ill for only two days. The first day the janitor had found him on his bed. His clothes and shoes were wet and he was shivering. He had been out in that stormy night. They found a ladder and a lantern still lighted lying near his bed. There were also some brushes and green and yellow paints on the floor near the ladder. Sue asked Johnsy to look out of the window at the ivy leaf, which was the last remaining leaf on the creeper. She asked her if she did not wonder why it did not flutter when the wind blew. It was so because that last leaf was Behrman’s masterpiece. He painted it the night the last leaf fell. His masterpiece had given the strength to Johnsy to come out of her illness. Behrman’s masterpiece saved her life but took his own.
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