Stephen Leacock: Writing About a Town he Loves.
With the help of humorous satire and an opinionated narrator, Stephen Leacock's "The Mariposa Bank Mystery" and "L"Envoi. The Train to Mariposa" are effective illustrations of small town life that essentially any Canadian could relate to. Both of these sketches take place in a small fictitious town Leacock titles "Mariposa". It becomes evident while reading these sketches that Leacock's narrator finds comfort in, and is endeared to the culture, people, and surroundings found in this setting. The unnamed narrator's positive opinion of "Mariposa" is displayed more specifically as he/she lightheartedly pokes fun at the characters in "The Mariposa Bank Mystery", and also in the way that he/she seems to disapprove of those who have abandoned Mariposa by moving to the city in "L"Envoi". By assuming that the opinion of the narrator in these sketches matches the opinion of Leacock himself, it can be said that Leacock too, is drawn to and comforted by the way of life found in rural, small-town Canada. .
Leacock is a great creator of irony. One of the sources of irony in "The Bank Mystery" is created in the way that Leacock appears to write in a negative manner towards Mariposa's people, when in fact he is quite fond of the way of life of the small community. He refers to the poet on the Pepperleigh's verandah as a "jackass", and he implies that Zena Pepperleigh is unintelligent: " with her eyes fixed on the poet as if she were hanging on to every syllable (she was; she needed to.) (136)" These comments are not meant to be insults towards the people of Mariposa, but instead a sort of playful teasing. Since teasing is only directed towards those who one is fond of, it can be interpreted that Leacock has a fondness for the people inhabiting his fictional town. Other sources of irony in "The Bank Mystery" occur in the events surrounding Peter Pupkin.
Stephen Leacock, another one of O. ... Henry's style of writing and what the meaning of his works mean (Leacock, Stephen 1) . ... But of little threads and patches a vision of a haggard face seen for a moment in a crowd, a fallen word, the chance glance of an eye- of such as this interwoven with the cross thread of his marvelous imagination, he did his matchless work ( Leacock, Stephen 2)." ...
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