AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -It means that Johnsy was counting her life with the shedding of leaves. She thought that she would die when the last leaf of the ivy creeper fell.

Detailed explanation-2: -hundreds of leaves Johnsy tells Sue she is counting leaves. She tells Sue that she will die when the last leaf falls. five leaves Johnsy thinks the last leaf will fall overnight, and then she will die, too. four leaves Counting so many leaves made Johnsy’s head hurt.

Detailed explanation-3: -Ans: Johnsy kept looking out of the window and counted backwards to note the number of leaves left on the ivy-creeper. She believed that she would die when the last leaf fell whereas the leaves were falling in a normal process of nature during the autumn season.

Detailed explanation-4: -Joanna was counting the falling leaves because she had lost all hope of living. She believed that with the fall of last leaf, she will also leave this world. That’s why she was counting the leaves in the descending order, making a note of how many days she had left before the last leaf falls.

Detailed explanation-5: -For Johnsy, watching the leaves of the ivy vine fall becomes an obsession. She watches them obsessively and becomes convinced that she will die once the last leaf falls. For Johnsy, then, the ivy leaf comes to symbolize death and giving up, while it can also come to symbolize will to live and hope.