Read this student’s summary of O. Henry’s “The Last Leaf.” Sue and Johnsy are artists who live together in New York City. One winter, Johnsy is struck with pneumonia. She makes up her mind to die as soon as the last leaf falls from the ivy plant growing outside her window. As the winter wind blows and the rain falls, Sue helplessly watches her friend’s life ebb away. And there seems no way to stop the last leaf from falling.

In the surprise ending, an old man makes the ultimate sacrifice for Johnsy. Like all the artists in the building, he always hoped to someday paint a masterpiece. One night, he braves the cold and rain to paint a single leaf on the wall outside Johnsy’s window to such perfection that she cannot tell the last leaf has fallen. In time, hope is revived and, with it, Johnsy’s will to live. However, the old man falls sick and soon dies. But he has realized his dream and has painted his masterpiece.

How does the old man’s deed reveal the theme of the story?

Read the excerpt from "the storyteller." the smaller girl created a diversion by beginning to recite "on the road to mandalay.” she only knew the first line, but she put her limited knowledge to the fullest possible use. she repeated the line over and over again in a dreamy but resolute and very audible voice; it seemed to the bachelor as though some one had had a bet with her that she could not repeat the line aloud two thousand times without stopping. whoever it was who had made the wager was likely to lose his bet. "come over here and listen to a story,” said the aunt, when the bachelor had looked twice at her and once at the communication cord. the children moved listlessly towards the aunt’s end of the carriage. evidently her reputation as a storyteller did not rank high in their estimation. in a low, confidential voice, interrupted at frequent intervals by loud, petulant questionings from her listeners, she began an unenterprising and deplorably uninteresting story about a little girl who was good, and made friends with every one on account of her goodness, and was finally saved from a mad bull by a number of rescuers who admired her moral character. which instances of situational irony occur in the passage? select two options. a.) “whoever it was who had made the wager was likely to lose his bet.” b.) “‘come over here and listen to a story,’ said the aunt, when the bachelor had looked twice at her and once at the communication cord.” -- c.) “the children moved listlessly towards the aunt’s end of the carriage.” d.) “evidently her reputation as a story-teller did not rank high in their estimation.” -- e.) “in a low, confidential voice, interrupted at frequent intervals by loud, petulant questionings from her listeners, she began an unenterprising and deplorably uninteresting story about a little girl who was good.”