Page 17 - DENG105_ELECTIVE_ENGLISH_II

Elective English–II

Notes is ill with pneumonia. She is very weak; she lays in her bed, scarcely moving, and looks out
of the window counting the falling leaves on the old ivy vine.

Self Assessment

1. Johnsy the main character seems to be very
(a) sadistic (b) pessimistic
(c) optimistic (d) none of these.
2. Sue found ………….smelling strongly of juniper berries in his dimly lighted den .

(a) Behrman (b) Johnsy
(c) the Doctor (d) none of these
3. Mr. Behrman died of……..
(a) typhoid (b) cholera
(c) pneumonia (d) none of these.
4. O. Henry’s middle name at birth was Sidney; he changed the spelling to ………… 1898.

(a) Sydney (b) Sidnee
(c) Sydniy (d) none of these

1.5 Summary

• The story revolves around two artist girls—Sue and Johnsy—who have their own ‘studio’
in quaint old Greenwich Village. What they have was a relationship fostered on mutual
trust and their common tastes in art, chicory salad and bishop sleeves! All went hunky
dory till Johnsy fell ill with pneumonia one cold November month. The disease seemed
to drain out the last streaks of will and womanly taste from her being. She lay all day
on her bed awaiting her death, looking out of the window listlessly. The doctor put her
chances at one-in-ten, which he swelled up to one-in-five if Sue managed to get Johnsy
to ask ‘one question about the new winter styles in cloak sleeves’! Here the author tries
to cook up humour from a woman’s natural eye for fashion. Distressed by the doctor’s
verdict Sue cried a Japanese napkin to a pulp—another typical womanly reaction! She,
at no cost, wanted to lose a friend who had so much in common with her and who had,
for the past one year, been her staunch companion in everything—from her artistic
conquests to her personal trivia. With a heavy heart she gathered her drawing board
and paintbrush (and a great amount of will) and made her way into Johnsy’s room.
Johnsy lay there still as death itself. Sue began working on an illustration for a magazine
story. ‘Young artists must pave their way to art by drawing pictures for magazine
stories that Young authors write to pave their way to literature!’ Here the author has
skilfully drawn a comparison between the two classes of strugglers and brought to
light how the two, despite being so different in their genres, together make a wonderful
piece! How many of us have actually read up a story because the illustrations were
appealing?! Coming back to the story, our heroine Sue sat there in the room sketching
with determination, trying to drown her sorrow into her art. Suddenly the sound of
low moans broke her trance. She went quickly to Johnsy’s bedside. She was lying there
eyes open wide and fixed outside the window. She was counting - counting backwards!
Sue’s solicitous glances found that Johnsy had her eyes on an old, old vine, the leaves
of which had been ripped off its body, exposing the rotting skeleton. It had been losing

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