A Comparison Of Gwilan's Harp, And The Last Leaf

In the stories “Gwilan’s Harp” by Ursula K. LeGuin, “The Washwoman” by Isaac Singer, and “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry, the characters experience tragic loss. In each of these story’s a life is lost. This usually happens around the climax. In “Gwilan’s Harp” by Ursula K. LeGuin the loss taught that you should never mope around when something bad happens. In “The Washwoman” by Isaac Singer the loss showed you should always finish your tasking no matter how difficult. In “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry he teaches that we should always help others to the fullest extent. All these authors teach valuable lessons in their short story’s.

In the story “Gwilan’s Harp” by Ursula K. LeGuin there is lots of loss. This story starts off great and happy. By the midpoint Gwilan has gotten into an accident and broken her wrist. She loses her ability to play the one thing in life she adores, the harp. She ends up marrying Torm, the driver in the accident, because of their mutual love of music. She faces another heart break when both of her boys want nothing to do with music. At the end of this sad short story Gwilan’s husband of thirty years dies leaving her alone. “The thirty years began in pain; they passed in peace, contentment. But they did not end there. They ended where they began” (LeGuin). The ending of Gwilan’s life was

mainly loss.

The second short story is “The Washwoman” by Isaac Singer.

In this story an old Christian woman has a laundry business. She walked an hour and a half every time she came to drop off and pick up clothes. She was a very dedicated, hard working woman. Her son hated her because of her work, this is a loss already. He shuns her and doesn’t even invite her to his wedding. By the end of the book the washwoman becomes extremely ill, she disappears for months without a word. She finally returns with all the laundry as it should be. “She had been driven by an indomitable will to return the property to its rightful owners, to fulfill the task she undertaken”

(Singer)

The last book was “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry. In this story there is the verge of loss and actual loss. It starts off with Johnsy laying sick in bed with a pneumonia, she’s lost the will to live any longer. Her best friend Sue tries to nurse her back to health but instead Johnsy starts counting ivy leaves on a vine outside. She said once the last one falls she will die as well. “When the last one falls I must go too.” (Henry) Their beloved neighbor had a life goal to paint a masterpiece. Painting Johnsy’s last leaf one the wall became his masterpiece, because it would make her get better. It was rainy and cold but he still went out, he caught an pneumonia and died two days later all to save Johnsys life.

Each of these short stories display a rough patch in life. There is the loss of a loved one. Torm, Gwilan’s husband in “Gwilan’s Harp”, the old washwoman in “The Washwoman”, and the old German Behrman, in “The Last Leaf”. Although there’s lots of death there are important lessons that come with it. In “Gwilan’s Harp” by Ursula K. LeGuin the loss taught that you should never mope around when something bad happens. In “The Washwoman” by Isaac Singer the loss showed you should always finish your tasking no matter how difficult. In “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry he teaches that we should always help others to the fullest extent.