Answer:
Paul Laurence Dunbar's "The Faith Cure Man" and O Henry's "The Last Leaf" are stories that deal with serious illness, family (friends who are like family) and the role of hope. Although the outcomes of the illnesses in the two stories are different, the overlapping big ideas are similar: hope, love, family, friendship, fear and grief. Thus, they pair well together to help students see that even if stories are different in outcome (one sad, one ironic but happy), they can share a central idea/theme statement. So this shows that faith in fact does play a different role, because of the illnesses. I hope this helps you understand it more! :)
