From the very beginning of "The Last Leaf," the threat that illness poses to the fragile personal ecosystem of the impoverished artists in Greenwich Village is made very clear. Johnsy and Behrman’s eventual illness is foreshadowed in the text early on:
Over on the east side this ravager [pneumonia] strode boldly, smiting his victims by scores, but his feet trod slowly through the maze of the narrow and moss-grown "places."
Pneumonia is depicted as a conqueror, making slow and terrible progress toward our heroes in their “place” west of Washington Square Park. The characterization of his movement as “slow” within the first few pages of the text not only develops a sense of a menacing danger—the reader knows that sooner or later, the disease will come for Johnsy and Sue in some capacity—it also foreshadows the pace of the disease’s effect among our characters. One character falls ill, then another, then another, rather than everyone all at once.
Foreshadowing the illness’s arrival builds a degree of tension into a very short story, by making the audience aware of pneumonia’s role from the very beginning. It also ratchets up the stakes of the story: the choice of the word “smiting” makes it clear that this illness is lethal, particularly for people like Johnsy and Mr. Behrman, who live in apartments that fall far short of modern standards of insulation and sanitation.
