Dog - “The Speculations of Jefferson Thorpe”
Stephen Leacock writes, “There was Myra who treated lovers like dogs and would slap them across the face with a banana skin to show her utter independence.” The figurative dogs validate that Myra disregards and disgraces her lovers. Evidently, her egotism is accredited to her father’s money, which would guard her should she be sued for assault.
Genius - “The Speculations of Jefferson Thorpe”
Myra’s talent distinguishes her from the other ladies in Mariposa: “Mind you, I don't mean that Myra was merely flippant and worthless. Not at all. She was a girl with any amount of talent. You should have heard her recite "The Raven," at the Methodist Social! Simply genius! And when she acted Portia in the Trial Scene of the Merchant of Venice at the High School concert, everybody in Mariposa admitted that you couldn't have told it from the original.” Myra’s aptitude is a distinctive aspect which Leacock exploits to portray her systematically.
Religion - “The Whirlwind Campaign in Mariposa”
Religious diversities are not deterrents the campaign: “You have noticed already, I am sure, that a good many of the captains and committee men didn't belong to the Church of England Church. Glover, for instance, was a Presbyterian, till they ran the picket fence of the manse two feet on to his property, and after that he became a free-thinker. But in Mariposa, as I have said, everybody likes to be in everything and naturally a Whirlwind Campaign was a novelty. Anyway it would have been a poor business to keep a man out of the lunches merely on account of his religion. I trust that the day for that kind of religious bigotry is past.” Had religious bigotry been accommodated, the people would have conflicted on the basis of their divergent religious outlooks which would have endangered the campaign. The accomplishment of the camping emphasizes that religious variances should not be exploited to root discord among people who have the potential to ominously subsidize collective changes.
