ENGLISH Textual Question [ 2 marks] [S.P]

Behrman’s masterpiece is the ivy leaf he painted the night the last leaf fell. It was a green healthy ivy leaf clinging to the creeper. Sue says it was a masterpiece because the leaf was so well painted that Johnsy believed it was the real, natural leaf and this gave Johnsy the will to live and helped her recover from her illness.

Behrman was a sixty-year-old painter whose lifelong dream was to paint a masterpiece. Yes, his dream does come true. He painted a green and healthy leaf clinging to the creeper on the window that was so natural that Johnsy believed that it was real and thanks to the leaf she regained her will to live. The leaf he painted was his masterpiece.

Yes, the feeling of depression that Johnsy has is common among teenagers. They get depressed and stressed out for various reasons like not performing well in their examinations, trying to live up to their parents’ expectations and failing to do so, peer pressure, etc.

Johnsy’s illness was that she was suffering from pneumonia. The doctor said that she seemed to have made up her mind that she was not going to get well and so medicines would not be able to cure her. She could only be cured by her willingness to live.

• Jonhsy was suffering from pneumonia.
• She was not getting well though the doctor was giving her medicines.
• She felt that when the ivy creeper on the brick wall outside would shed all its leaves she would die.
• Sue happened to mention this to Behrman who had come to meet her.
• Behrman painted a leaf in the place of the last leaf and Johnsy felt that the last leaf didn’t give up.
• She built up courage and was determined to get well.
• Sue told her that the last leaf was not a real one but Behrman’s masterpiece.
• He had got pneumonia after painting the leaf and had died within two days.
• However, Johnsy got well and the painted leaf gave her the courage and will to get well.

• Jonhsy was suffering from pneumonia.
• She was not getting well though the doctor was giving her medicines.
• She felt that when the ivy creeper on the brick wall outside would shed all its leaves she would die.
• Sue happened to mention this to Behrman who had come to meet her.
• Behrman painted a leaf in the place of the last leaf and Johnsy felt that the last leaf didn’t give up.
• She built up courage and was determined to get well.
• Sue told her that the last leaf was not a real one but Behrman’s masterpiece.
• He had got pneumonia after painting the leaf and had died within two days.
• However, Johnsy got well and the painted leaf gave her the courage and will to get well.

• Depression is a serious and common disease among teenagers today.
• With growing challenges and competition, youngsters find it difficult to cope.
• Those who cannot cope become sad and depressed.
• Such people lose the will and confidence to try again or face life with a smile and make their lives worth living.
• Having a role model and reachable goals are necessary to live strongly and purposefully.
• Johnsy is also a young artist who doesn’t seem to have carved a niche for her in the art world.
• She and her friend are struggling. However, she is lucky Sue is there for her.
• She is not alone in her fight against depression.
• People like Behrman who are total outsiders may also help depressed people regain control of their lives.

• Johnsy was suffering from pneumonia and had given up her will to live.
• She believed that when the last leaf on the ivy creeper outside their window fell she would die.
• Though it was raining and cold outside, Behrman painted a leaf from where the last leaf fell.
• When Johnsy realised that the leaf had not fallen inspite of the strong wind, she became determined to get well.
• She was saved but poor Behrman got wet and caught pneumonia.
• He died two days later.
• Sue felt that the leaf he painted was his masterpiece as Johnsy felt it was real and she started getting well and her life was saved.

• Behrman was a sixty years old Painter.
• He was Sue and Johnsy‘s neighbour.
• He lived in the basement of the old house they lived in.
• His lifelong dream had been to Paint a masterpiece but it had remained unfulfilled.
• Sue went to ask him to model for her as she was painting an old miner.
• She also told him about Johnsy's illness and her belief that when the last leaf fell off the ivy creeper her life would end.

• It was autumn and the leaves were falling off fast from the ivy creeper which was on the brick wall opposite their window.
• The strong wind was making the creeper shed its leaves.
• While Sue was painting she heard Johnsy count backwards from twelve to seven.
• She was counting the leaves which were remaining on the ivy creeper.
• She had come to believe that when the last leaf fell she would die.
• Sue tried to make her see sense that the falling of the old ivy leaves had nothing to do with her getting well.
• She told her that the doctor was confident that she would get well and she brought her a bowl of Soup to get her nourished.

• Johnsy was suffering from pneumonia.
• She was not responding to the doctor’s medicine.
• The doctor said that something was bothering her so Sue tried her best to make Johnsy take an interest in things around her.
• She talked about clothes and fashions but it did not interest her.
• She also brought her drawing-board in Johnsy’s room and started painting there.
• She whistled along to take Johnsy’s mind off her illness. She also made soup for her.

• Sue and Johnsy were friends and young artists.
• Johnsy was seriously ill with pneumonia so she lay in her bed without moving and gazed out of the window.
• Sue was worried about her health.
• Although the doctor visited her every day, Johnsy did not show any signs of improvement.
• The doctor said that it looked as if she had made up her mind to not get well and medicines alone couldn't help her to recover.