What is the plot and some of the symbols "The Last Leaf"?

The story is about two young women artists, Sue and
Johnsy, who live together in Greenwich Village in NYC. Johnsy is sick with
pneumonia. She believes that as soon as all the leaves die that she can see outside of
her window, then she will die as well. She counts the leaves every day as they fall, but
one remains, even after all the others die off. Johnsy keeps watching that "last leaf"
but it never falls off the tree. She finally becomes convinced that she has been selfish
and morose waiting for her own death, and decides to suck it up and get better. If that
little leaf could hold on for so long, so could she.

The
irony of the story is that the last leaf was painted on the window by Mr. Behrman, an
old artist and a friend of the girls. Mr. Behrman climbed up on a ladder and painted the
leaf in the cold and rain and caught pneumonia himself and
died.

The leaf is a symbol of despair that turns into a
symbol of hope. Johnsy thinks the ivy leaf stands for her life, slowly falling away.
When the leaf remains, however, it becomes a symbol of hope for her. If the ivy leaf can
hang on, so can she. There are some other symbols - Mr. Behrman, for examples smells
like "juniper berries". This is what gin is made from so he is most likely an alcoholic.
The window shade could be a symbol...........I'll let you figure that one out. What do
you think it stands for? Johnsy is always asking Sue to open it up, so she can see the
leaves. Sue does not want to do so because she fears that all the leaves will be
gone..................what do you think?