The Last Leaf

 

Definition

Narrative Text is a type of text that tells an imaginary / fictional story with the aim of entertaining in a chronologically interrelated manner.
As an imaginary story, Narrative Text is not necessarily true, because it is only based on the imagination of a person or group of people whose truth is not proven.

Characteristic features
The following are the characteristics of Narrative Text, including:

• Narrative Text tells a story from the past.
• Use a noun (noun) to replace the animal, person, or object pronoun in the story. (The Dwarfs, Carriage, etc) (Dwarves, Carriages, etc.).
• It is more of a folk tale or is already known and developed in the community as a shared story even though it can be retold in different versions of the story. (Malin Kundang / Indonesia: Tanggang / Malaysia)
• The elements of the story consist of time and place settings, story themes, story characters, story atmosphere, conflict and resolution.
• Can be arranged into a simple sequence or composed of several complex sequences.
• Sequence is a series of statements in which the execution is sequential / coherent. What is found first will be done first and if the order of the statements is reversed it will have a different meaning.

General Structure (Generic Structure)

• To make a Narrative Text, it is endeavored to contain the general structure of the Narrative Text itself, such as:
• Orientation: This section contains an opening paragraph where the characters of the story are introduced. (Contains the place, character, and time to read the story, who and when) (
• Complication: The problem parts of the story begin to develop. (Problems start to emerge or start to occur and begin to develop)
• Resolution: The problem parts of the story begin to be resolved. The problem is resolved, either in a happy "happy ending" or a "bad ending" or bad.
• Coda / reorientation (optional): A section that describes the lessons that can be learned from the story.
• The Characteristics / Language Feature
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The following are the linguistic elements of Narrative Text / The Characteristics / Language Feature of Narrative Text:

The Characteristics/ Language Feature

• Past tense: (Killed, drunk, went, won, sent, etc) (killed, drunk, left, won, sent, etc.).
• Adverb of time: (Once upon a time, today, one day, will, yesterday, later, etc) (At any time, today, one day, will, yesterday, later, etc.).
• Time conjunction: (When, then, suddenly, before, after, until, a soon as, etc) (when, then, suddenly, before, after, arrived, immediately, etc.).
• Specific characters / use of specific story characters, not general ones. (Cinderella, Alibaba, Snow White, Tangled, Ariel, etc.)
• Action verbs / verbs that indicate an action: (Killed, walked, wrote, stayed, dug, etc) (killed, walked, wrote, stayed, dug up, etc.)
• Read out a live speech to make the story come alive (Direct speech). (Princess said, "My name is Princess) (Princess said," My name is Princess). Live speech using the present tense.
• Saying and thinking verb: A verb that denotes utterance or reporting. (Said, told, thought, etc) (said, told a story, thought, etc.).

The Last Leaf

Many artists lived in Greenwich Village in New York City. Sue and Johnsy, two artists also lived there in a studio apartment. Their rooms were at the top of an old building in Greenwich Village.

In November, it was very cold and with it a cold unseen stranger, whom the doctors called Pneumonia,stalked the city, touching one here and there with hisicy fingers. The icy fingers of Pneumonia also touchedJohnsy. She was very ill, lying in her bed and not moving at all. A doctor visited her every day but Johnsy was not getting better. One morning, the doctor spoke to Sueoutside Johnsy's room,

“I can' t help her,” the doctor said. “She is very sad and has no desire to live.Someone must make her happy again. What is she interested in?”


“She is an artist,” Sue replied. “She wants to paint a picture of bay of Naples.”

“Painting!” said the doctor. “That won't help her!”

Sue was distressed by this news and didn't know what to do to help Johnsy.She went into the workroom and cried and then she swaggered into Johnsy's room with her drawing board, whistling ragtime. Johnsy lay silently in her bed with her face towards the window. Sue stopped whistling, thinking Johnsy was asleep.

Sue arranged her board and began drawing to illustrate a magazine story.As Sue was sketching a figure of a hero, an Idaho cowboy, she heard a low sound,several times repeated. She went quickly to the bedside.

Johnsy's eyes were open wide. She was looking out the window and counting-counting backwards.

"Twelve," she said, and little later "eleven"; and then "ten," and "nine"; and then"eight" and "seven", almost together.

Sue looked out of the window wondering what was there to count? There was only a bare, dreary yard to be seen, and the blank side of the brick house was only a bare, dreary yard to be seen, and the blank side of the brick house twenty feet away. An old, old ivy vine, gnarled and decayed at the roots, climbed half way up the brick wall. The cold breath of autumn had stricken its leaves from the vine until its skeleton branches clung, almost bare, to the crumbling bricks.

"What is it, dear?" asked Sue.

"Six," said Johnsy, in almost a whisper. "They're falling faster now. Three days ago there were almost a hundred. My head ached when I was counting them but now it's easy. There goes another one. There are only five left now."
“Enam,” kata Johnsy, hampir berbisik, “Mereka jatuh sangat cepat sekarang, tiga hari yang l
"Five what, dear? Tell me."

"Leaves on the ivy vine. When the last one falls I must go, too. I've known that for three days. Didn't the doctor tell you?"

"Oh, I never heard of such nonsense," complained Sue, with magnificent scorn."What have old ivy leaves to do with your getting well? Try to sleep," said Sue. "I must call Behrman up to be my model for the old hermit miner. I'll not be gone a minute. Don't try to move 'til I come back."

Old Behrman was a painter who lived on the ground floor of the same building. He was sixty years old and had always dreamed of painting a masterpiece, but unfortunately till now he was not able to fulfill his dream. Sue found Behrman in his dimly lighted apartment sitting in his chair. She told him of Johnsy's condition. Old Behrman, with his red eyes plainly streaming, shouted hiscontempt and derision for such idiotic imaginings.


Johnsy was sleeping when they went upstairs. Sue pulled the shade down to the windowsill, and motioned Behrman into the other room. In there they peered out the window fearfully at the ivy vine. Then they looked at each other for a moment without speaking. A persistent, cold rain was falling, mingled with snow.When Sue awoke from an hour's sleep the next morning she found Johnsy with dull, wide-open eyes staring at the drawn green shade.

"Pull it up; I want to see," she ordered, in a whisper. Wearily Sue obeyed."It is the last one," said Johnsy. It will fall today, and I shall die at the same time."


"Dear, dear!" said Sue, leaning her worn face down to the pillow, "think of me, ifyou won't think of yourself. What would I do?" But Johnsy did not answer.

The leaf stayed on the vine all day. That night, there was more wind and rain.When it was light enough Johnsy commanded that the shade be raised. The ivy leaf was still there.

"I've been a foolish girl, Sue," said Johnsy. “I wanted to die but the last leaf stayed on the vine to teach me a lesson. Please bring me some soup now.” “You know Sue, some day I hope to paint the Bay of Naples."

The doctor visited the girls in the afternoon. “Take good care of your friend,” he said. “She is going to get well. Now I have to go downstairs. I have to visit Mr. Behrman. He has pneumonia too. I must send him to the hospital.”

The next day the doctor said to Sue: "She's out of danger. You won.Nutrition and care now - that's all." And that afternoon Sue came to the bed where Johnsy lay, contentedly knitting a woolen shoulder scarf. "I have something to tell you, dear," she said. "Mr. Behrman died of pneumonia today in the hospital. He was ill only two days. The janitor found him the morning of the first day in his room downstairs helpless with pain. His shoes and clothing were wet through and icy cold. They couldn't imagine where he had been on such a dreadful night. And then they found a lantern, still lighted, and a ladder that had been dragged from its place, and some scattered brushes, and a palette with green and yellow colors mixed on it, and - look out the window, dear, at the last ivy leaf on the wall. Didn't you wonder why it never fluttered or moved when the wind blew? Ah, darling, it's Behrman's masterpiece - he painted it there the night that the last leaf fell.”

 Write a short narrative story about your experience. What is the greatest sacrifice you have ever made for your family or friends? Describe it and publish it in your blog!

because I was in school exams, I was alone at home at that time my mother was washing clothes very much, when after doing the exam questions and right outside the classroom I wanted to go home, my mother called me to bring the clothesline inside because of the rain. immediately I immediately ran from school to house with all my might